My Son and Your Son
by writer writing
Summary: Lana's back again with a surprise. Can Clark and Lois' relationship take it?
1. Chapter 1

"Can you believe her?" Lois asked. "I don't see how she can call herself a reporter."

Clark smiled. "I don't know. Cookie seems like a fine reporter to me."

"Okay, first of all, what moron names their kid after food and second of all, a fine reporter? Just look at her," she said, pointing at the TV. "That woman wouldn't last 5 minutes in a real newsroom. She's paid to sit there and look pretty, while she reads news that people have gotten for her. You take away her script and she's got the IQ of a grape, no excuse me, of a cookie."

Clark laughed as he switched off the TV.

She looked at him in confusion. "It's 6:00. You can't be ready for bed already."

He put his arms around her. "Don't get me wrong, I love listening to you fuss about TV reporters, but I thought we could do something besides watching the 6:00 news for once. You know a break in routine. And who said anything about going to bed?"

She smiled as he pushed her down on the couch. "What about the schedule?"

They'd been trying to have a child for almost a year now. They were starting to get into schedules, home remedies, etc. They knew full well it was possible that they couldn't even have children because of Clark's heritage, but they weren't ready to give up yet.

He smiled. "I'm not bucking the schedule, but it's still a few days away. No reason why we can't get a little practice in."

"You make a good point."

They hadn't gotten very far when there was a knock at the door. "Hold that thought," he told her. He buttoned his shirt back up.

She pulled the shirt back over her head. "I bet if we'd been watching Cookie, nobody would have dared disturb us."

He pulled the door open, trying to keep the smile off his face and Lois peered interestedly over the couch. It was Lana and a little boy. Lois stood up in surprise and joined Clark. They hadn't seen Lana in years.

"I'm sorry to disturb you," Lana said.

Lois couldn't help, but think that Lana didn't look very sorry.

"Can we help you?" Clark asked curiously, his brain racking for reasons why Lana would possibly call on them.

The little boy squeaked pass Clark and Lois and sat himself onto the couch, turning on the TV. Lois shook her head in amusement. He certainly had no qualms about making himself at home in someone else's place, but then again she remembered making herself at home in a stranger's house a time or two.

Lana had made her way in as well and shut the door behind her. "There's no easy way to say this."

"Then just say it," Lois said in exasperation. She hated when people pussyfooted around. It didn't soften the blow. It just wasted time. Of course, some people might accuse her of being too blunt, but at least it got things over and done with.

"Clark, that's your son."

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

Clark and Lois immediately turned around to take a closer look at the boy on their couch. He was about 5 years old. He was turned around, so all they could see was his dark hair.

"Evan," Lana called him. The boy turned around and Clark and Lois gasped as they couldn't help but notice his eyes were the same shade of blue as Clark's. "Why don't you wait in another room?" Lana told him.

Clark spoke up, "If you go in the kitchen, there's some cookies on the counter."

Evan nodded and did as he was told. Clark and Lois both turned their attention back to Lana once he was out of the room.

"Are you sure?" Clark asked. "How is that possible?"

Lois rolled her eyes and started to say something. Clark, however, sensed what she was about to say. "I mean I know how it's possible, but we were only together 2 times."

"Sometimes it only takes one time," Lois said bitingly.

Clark cringed at her words, knowing all too well their double meaning.

Lana spoke up, "I didn't mean to cause any problems."

"Of course, you didn't," Lois replied sarcastically. "You meant for this to be a joyous occasion I'm sure."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Clark asked Lana.

Lana teared up. "I was young, Clark. We were young. I didn't want Evan to be the reason why we stayed together. That's the real reason I left after I came out of the coma. When I came back, you made it clear that you were in love with Lois, so I made the decision to raise him by myself."

Clark's jaw hardened. "So why are you telling me now?"

"I have a job for the summer, an archeological dig and the pay's great. Money's been tight lately. I can't bring him along and there isn't anyone I can leave him with because he has your powers. Except you. So will you do it?"

Clark sighed. "I can't pass up an opportunity to get to know him if he is my son."

Lois left the apartment without saying a word. Clark closed his eyes, imagining the pain she must be feeling right now.

"I'm so sorry," Lana told him. "I didn't mean to come between you two."

"You didn't. My wife and I will be just fine," he said, placing special emphasis on wife. "Is there anything else you need to tell me?"

He got her contact information and she brought in his things that she had left out in the hallway. Once she was gone, Clark was about to go after Lois, but then he remembered the boy in the kitchen. He couldn't leave him alone.

Clark ventured into the kitchen hesitantly. "Hey…Evan." He thought about the name. He had no doubt she had named him after the Evan they had found in Evan's Field. If he had been around, he would have probably insisted on giving him another name. He wasn't a replacement for that Evan. He was a different and unique individual. At least, she hadn't named him Clark. He smiled. He could never name a son of his Clark. Lois had ruined it for him.

Evan looked up at him, mouth full of cookies.

"Uh, do you want to get settled in?"

Evan didn't say anything. He waited for Clark to lead the way though. Clark took him to the guest room. He hoped Lois wouldn't be mad. They had already talked about converting it into a nursery, but there was nowhere else to put him. He helped him get unpacked and then they watched some TV together. He had no idea what they watched though. His thoughts were completely on Lois. He kept looking toward the door, hoping she would walk back through, but she didn't.

At last, Evan was ready for bed. Evan decided he wanted his bed by the window, so he picked it up and moved it there. There was no denying he had powers. Clark tucked him in and Evan closed his eyes. Just as Clark was about to leave the room, he heard him mumble, "Goodnight, Dad."

Clark froze, but answered, "Goodnight." It had just hit him. He was a dad. At least, he thought so. He was going to get a DNA test tomorrow to make sure, but there seemed no reason to doubt he wasn't. He only hoped that Lois could take it if he was. He looked at the clock. 8:30 and she still wasn't home.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

Lois was getting drunk as drunk as she possibly could. She hoped that the alcohol would make her forget that her world had come crashing down a couple of hours ago. "Another drink," she spit out. She sounded drunk, but she wasn't slurring her words. She'd had plenty of practice when she was younger developing a tolerance and learning not to slur. She cursed her tolerance now. She wanted the next glass to be the one that made her forget or black out, right now she'd take either one.

The bartender gave her a look. "Ma'am, I don't think you need another."

"Who are you, my mother? Just give me another shot of bourbon and mind your own business."

"Lois," came a voice softly behind her.

She spun her barstool around. She laughed. "Clark, how nice of you to join the party." She spun back around to the bartender, not as smoothly as she would have liked. "This is a party you know, Mr. Bartender. My husband," she said, gesturing to Clark, "just found out he's a father today." She snapped her fingers. "Oh, shoot. I forgot the 'It's a Boy' balloon. I knew I was forgetting something."

"Lois," he whispered again with embarrassment laced in his voice.

The bartender was confused and unsure of what to say.

"In case, you were wondering, I'm not the mother. His childhood sweetheart is."

Clark tried to pick her up off the stool, but she pushed him away. "What are you doing here anyway?" she said coldly. "Why aren't you enjoying your reunion with your happy, little family?"

"You are my family, Lois. Can't we just talk?"

Lois took a sip of her drink. The bartender had given her another one out of sympathy, and he pointed to a small room in the back. "You can use that room for privacy if you want," he said.

Clark gave a nod of thanks. "Please, Lois?"

She didn't look happy at the prospect, but she said, "2 minutes. That's all you get."

He tried to put a hand on her as they headed for the room, but she was having none of it.

The room was a dark storage room with no light switch. The only light was from the glitter of the clear bottles reflecting the light from the barroom.

Clark was at a loss for words. Now that he had her alone. He wasn't sure what he could say to make it better.

"1 minute and 50 seconds, 1 minute and 49 seconds," she said, counting down.

"I can't think when you do that," Clark complained.

"Well, then you better start talking because I have a drink out there that's calling my name."

"You think alcohol poisoning is going to make this situation better?"

"It couldn't hurt," she snapped back, "and don't you dare try to turn this around on me! This isn't about my drinking. This is about Lana and how you can't ever seem to let that woman go."

"I let her go a long time ago and you know it. This is about a boy who might be my son. This isn't about Lana."

"It's always about Lana. She seems to have a knack for resurfacing at the worst possible times."

"I understand--"

"No!" she interrupted with tears in her eyes. "You couldn't possibly understand what this feels like. Lana has done everything with you first. She was your first love, you revealed your powers to her first, and now she has a child with you first. Are you sure you didn't get married to her first too? Is our marriage null and void?"

"Lois, the bottom line is that you're my true love and the only one I want to spend my life with. Not Lana. Isn't that enough?"

"It's not just that," she said, the tears streaming down her face.

"What is it then?" he asked, his voice heavy with concern.

"You don't get it, do you? If you can have a child with Lana, it means there's something wrong with me and we can't have children."

"There's all kinds of things they can do now days. We can have a child," he said, taking her in his arms. Lois didn't push him away this time.

"How? It usually takes the couple going to the doctor and you know how well that would turn out and it's still not a guarantee."

"Don't give up hope yet. We'll think of something. I promise."

"Or maybe it's a sign that no child should ever have Lois Lane for a mother. I never did get along with kids."

"You'll make a wonderful mother," he said tenderly and he meant it. He waited until her sobs subsided, holding her tightly the whole time. "Now are you ready to go home?"

She nodded and then said, "It must be hard to be a man."

Clark smiled. "You must be really drunk. How many glasses did you have?"

"I mean it. A man never knows when he might have had a child. A woman always knows. She might not know who the father is, but she at least knows she's the mother."

He sighed. "You know it's still possible he might not be my son?"

"How possible?" she asked wryly. When he didn't answer right away, she said, "That's what I thought."

They went and paid for Lois' drinks. He had to hold onto her. The alcohol was catching up to her and she couldn't walk straight or steady.

"So are you okay?" he asked her as they headed out of the bar and into the night.

"Yeah."

"Are we okay?"

She let out a heavy sigh, "We're fine."

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

The thought didn't enter her head until they reached the apartment. "Who's watching Evan? Is Lana still there?" she asked, ready to turn back around if she was.

"No, I got Diana to baby sit," he told her.

"Wonder Woman?" she asked skeptically. "What does she know about kids?"

"I don't know, but Evan's asleep, so it doesn't matter. She just happened to be the closest superhero. I didn't want to drag Mom or Chloe into this until we know for sure."

"This'll make some interesting Justice League gossip I guess."

"You know Diana better than that. She's not a gossiper."

"That doesn't mean this bit of news isn't going to make its way around. I'm already considered an interesting topic since I've dated half the league."

Clark smiled. "That means everyone has a high opinion of you and at the very least know that no superpower would keep you from tearing them limb from limb."

"What about work? That'll be even worse. I've made an enemy or two in my time at the Planet."

"They're definitely afraid of you there. They have no powers at all."

"Maybe," she said.

"No maybe to it," he told her, unlocking the apartment door.

Diana was sitting on the couch patiently waiting. She stood up as they entered.

"Thank you again for covering," Clark told her. "I know babysitting isn't exactly part of the Jusice League's duties."

She gave a small smile. "I was happy to. It's my duty as a friend."

Lois regarded her warily. She didn't want to talk about the situation. Normally, she wouldn't mind Diana, but right now she just wanted her to leave.

"I guess I'll be going," Diana said, as if reading her thoughts. Which Lois knew was possible for some superpowered people, but not this one. She just had a good intuition.

Diana looked at her. Lois had been feeling grateful toward her, but it changed into a small burning anger when she saw the look of pity in her eyes. If there was one thing she couldn't stand, it was anyone pitying her.

After she left, Lois said, "I hope you're not planning on making her the regular babysitter."

"Why?" asked a puzzled Clark.

"What if one of the neighbors see her and make a connection?"

"Our neighbors aren't the most observant people. They live in a building with Superman."

"What if she happens to be in her costume at the time? That's hardly appropriate for a little boy to see unless they're going swimming."

The last thing Clark wanted to do was get into a disagreement with Lois after the rough night they'd had, so he didn't inquire any further. It didn't seem to make her any happier that he'd dropped the subject. In fact, she was starting to look sick.

"And the fun begins," Lois said with a grimace and making her way to the bathroom.

He realized her nausea wasn't from the situation, but the alcohol. He followed her into the bathroom.

She puked repeatedly and he kept her hair back. He also gently rubbed her back when she wasn't in the process of vomiting. The last time he had done this for her she had been a much happier drunk. He had to hold back a smile when he thought of her Whitesnake sing-along. He had dealt with a crabbier drunk Lois before though and a depressed one. The funny thing about Lois was that she wasn't even predictable in a drunken state. At last, she seemed to be better as she wearily backed away and laid herself against the white porcelain tub.

Clark was looking at her with an I-don't-understand-why-you-would-do-this-to-yourself look, but he didn't dare voice it. She hadn't drank this heavy in years and they both knew why she had done it now. Lois didn't look ready for a repeat performance anytime soon anyway. He stood up and then bent down to scoop her up and carry her to bed, but she weakly waved her hand to demonstrate that she didn't want to be carried to bed. "I'll make it to bed myself."

He looked hesitant to agree, and said, "I'd feel better if I helped you to bed."

"If I'm not there in a few minutes, you can come back and get me. I promise."

He realized she probably wanted a little time to collect and prepare herself before she got in bed with the man who'd had a child with somebody else, even if it had been a long time ago. It hurt, but he understood.

She took a few seconds to gather her remaining strength and pull herself up off the floor. She went over to the sink and winced at her reflection. She was a mess. She brushed her teeth to get the horrible taste out of her mouth and then headed for bed.

She made a brief stop in front of the guest room or Evan's room as it was bound to become. He was still asleep. She tried to remind herself that despite the fact that Lana was his mother, he was kind of cute. If he was a part of her husband, that was reason enough to learn to love him. That didn't mean that love was going to come instantly or easily, because there was no denying that some of Lana was visible in him, but she was going to give it her best shot. He was an innocent kid in all this.

She slipped as quietly as possible into her and Clark's bedroom. She flopped onto the bed out of pure exhaustion. The alcohol and the news had taken its toll. Clark kissed her cheek, but she was too tired to respond in like. He also gave her a soft, "Goodnight". She let out a heavy sigh before she allowed her eyelids to shut and finally give into the overwhelming exhaustion. She wasn't looking forward to tomorrow.

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

Lois woke up the next morning and for a moment she had a small hope that it had all been a terrible nightmare. However, the smell of alcohol on her clothes, the headache, and the painful light all dispelled that idea. Clark had thoughtfully closed the blinds to keep as much light out of the bedroom as was viable and laid an aspirin and glass of water on the nightstand. She took it and then slowly made her way into the kitchen.

Clark was fixing her breakfast like most mornings. She sat down and waited. He put a plate of bacon and eggs in front of her. "How are you feeling?" he asked.

"I have a hangover," she retorted. "What do you think?"

He cast his eyes downward. He was still feeling bad about the situation he had put her in.

She felt a little sorry for him and amended her harsh words, "Thank you for asking though."

He sat down next to her. "I already called and told Perry we weren't coming in to work."

"What?" she cried, as loudly as she dared with her head still throbbing. The one thing she had been looking forward to was work. She could bury herself in a story and momentarily forget her problems. Being stuck at home with the child was the last thing she wanted. "We can't miss work. What did Perry say?"

He knew she had been counting on work to be her crutch or lifesaver, but he also knew delaying the inevitable would be neither productive or healthy to their marriage or dealing with the possible new member of their family. They had to face it now. "Work can wait a day. It's not like we're in the middle of an important story. Perry was glad to hear we were taking a day off, especially you. He didn't even ask why."

She glared at him and then said as calmly as possible, "So where's Evan?"

"He's still asleep. He must have had a long flight."

"What exactly do you plan on doing today that we had to miss work?"

"Well, getting an official DNA test for one thing."

"How? You can't just stroll in to the hospital and demand one. I mean I guess you could if you did it as Superman, but your public image would suffer, as well as risking Evan's safety, and who knows if they could even unlock Kryptonian DNA?"

"I'll take a hair from each of us and then take it to the fortress. It's equipped enough to analyze the DNA. It's the only place I can take it like you said."

She ate the rest of her breakfast in silence and they waited until Evan got up.

He came into the kitchen rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"I know this is going to sound funny, Evan, but can you give me one of your hairs?" Clark asked.

He didn't ask questions, but cooperated by pulling a hair out. He winced as he pulled and then handed it over.

"Thanks," Clark said. He bent down and put an arm around Lois and kissed her cheek. He lifted his head up without removing his arm from around Lois and said to Evan, "I'm going to run out while you eat your breakfast, but I'll be back. Lois is going to watch you."

Evan looked at Lois, but didn't say anything. Clark was ready to go and started to, but Lois tightly grabbed onto his wrist. It probably would have hurt a regular man as her hands looked a little white. "Clark, can I talk to you for a minute?"

Clark followed her into the other room to talk, unsure of what it was she wanted to discuss.

Once they were at the other end of the living room, she whispered loudly, "What do you think you're doing?"

"What do you mean?" he asked, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"You can't leave me with…with him," she said, gesturing wildly toward the kitchen.

He looked a little hurt, "Why not?"

"Kids hate me. I'm no good with kids."

He relaxed. "That's not true. Besides, Evan is a quiet child. You won't have any trouble."

"That's easy for you to say and didn't Lana say he has powers to top it all off?"

"My parents were able to watch me and they had no powers."

"Yeah, but your parents were super in their own right. Remember how my last babysitting job went?"

"It seems like this conversation was in reverse then. You were trying to convince me what a great babysitter you were. How you had a little sister and knew all about kids."

"I lied and that incident ended with me in the hospital and the kid with her psychotic parent."

"That was a completely different situation."

"Not really. Listen, I'm even willing to concede and let you bring back Diana."

He smiled and took her hands, "Depending on how this works out, you could be a stepmother. You might want to get used to it now and spend some time alone getting to know him. I'll be gone 30 minutes, tops, and all you have to do is call and I can hear you."

She sighed. "I hate to admit it, but I guess you're right and he is just a kid. Besides, I've handled grown superpowered villains with temper tantrums. I suppose it couldn't be any worse than that."

He kissed her softly on the lips, "That's the Lois Lane I know. I'll be back before you know it, honey."

She watched as he flew out of the window with Evan's hair in his hands. She had to keep her hand up to block out the early morning sun. She looked toward the kitchen. She didn't relish this at all. All she knew is that Clark better be right about this being an easy job. She headed back to the kitchen, albeit not very quickly, but with all the determination of a soldier going into battle.

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

Evan didn't seem to be doing anything out of the ordinary. He was just eating his breakfast. She walked by him and he finally said something to her, "You smell funny."

She really should have changed her clothes from last night. She just wasn't operating at full capacity yet. "I'll change when Clark gets back."

He wrinkled his nose and said, "You smell like Mommy when she goes out with her friends."

Lois tried to keep the smile off her face. She was glad to know that Lana wasn't always the epitome of perfection that she tried to give the impression of. She was starting to like Evan a little already. Lois leaned against the counter. She was almost afraid to sit down at the table with him. He finished off his milk. "Do you want more?" she asked.

He nodded and she got the milk jug out and poured it for him. "Why are you married to my dad?" he asked.

The question caught her off guard and the milk overflowed onto the table. She cleared her throat. "Because I love him and he loves me," and then she went for a towel to clean up the spilled milk.

"But why isn't he married to my mommy?"

Lois bit her lip in concentration. This kid had gone from quiet to asking her a lot of delicate questions. "He likes your mommy, but he doesn't love her in the way married people do."

His eyes widened. "My mommy and daddy weren't married?"

Lois looked to the door. Where was Clark when you needed him? He was there when her life was endanger. Where was he when her mouth was endangering her. She also wouldn't mind getting her hands on Lana. She hadn't even bothered to explain things to her son. "Not exactly. I mean they liked each other a lot and uh, well they lived together I guess." That was one area she trumped Lana she thought proudly. She had lived with him first even if it hadn't really been in a romantic capacity. She tried to remind herself though that it wasn't a competition and if it was, she had won. "But uh…you know maybe that's something you should ask Clark when he gets back."

"You mean my dad?"

He was a very perceptive, inquisitive kid for his age. If it wasn't such a strange circumstance for her, she'd admire the quality and even laugh a little, especially if he was her child. She'd made a few adults squirm with her her questions when she was a kid. In fact, she made adults squirm with her questions now, but all she could really think of is that they didn't share any DNA and if he had anything at all in common with her, it was nothing, but coincidence. She hoped that his resemblance to Clark was coincidence as well. She wanted him to have a dad, but she didn't want it to be her husband. She gave a noncommittal grunt.

"What am I supposed to call you?" he asked.

"Just call me Lois." She wanted to ask him some questions now. "What all has your mom told you about your dad?" she asked.

He shrugged. "That I have one and we were going to go see him and I was going to stay with him."

"You mean she just told you about him this week?"

He nodded.

"That's all she told you? She didn't tell you his name or anything."

He shook his head. That meant he didn't know Clark was Superman, which was a good thing. 5 years olds didn't often make good secret keepers.

"Did she tell you how you got your powers?"

"She said funny rocks came from the sky and made people have them."

At least, Lana was protecting Clark's secret. She had to give her credit for that. "Did she tell you about me?"

He shook his head again, another negative. She turned around and scoffed, so that he didn't see her do it, and returned the milk to the fridge while she was at it. It figured that Lana would pretend she didn't exist. Maybe by not preparing him for her being there, Lana was hoping to damage their relationship. However, he was just a little boy, who had never seen his parents together. The likelihood of that happening was slim, at least she hoped so.

He finished his breakfast and took his dishes to the sink. He knocked over the skillet that Clark had used for the eggs in the process. It fell with a loud clatter onto the floor. Lois jumped and winced in pain. She massaged her temples in hopes of helping the pain a little. It wasn't anything you wanted to hear with the awful headache she still had. She picked the skillet up and safely secured it, so there wouldn't be a repeat performance.

She didn't want him going into the living room. He didn't need to see Clark returning in his Superman costume. She turned on the little TV they had hooked underneath the cabinet to the first channel that had cartoons.

He looked wistfully toward the living room. He clearly wanted the comfort of the couch rather than the hard kitchen chair, but thankfully, he didn't voice it. He obediently sat back down to watch it.

She heard Clark coming back through the window. She hurried out to meet him, eager for the news.

He gave a short, affirmative nod. He looked so very sorry and watched carefully to see how she was reacting. She wasn't reacting. Her headache suddenly seemed much worse though and she felt somewhat dizzy. She had known this was probably coming, but to have the official confirmation was a lot to take in.

Evan came in before they could say anything to each other. Clark had changed back into his regular clothes. He got on his knees to hug him. Clark looked so happy to have a son. Lois knew she had no reason to feel this way logically, but somehow it made her feel like a third wheel all of a sudden. Like she intruding on a private moment and she shouldn't be watching.

TBC


	7. Chapter 7

"I don't think we've properly welcomed you," Clark told Evan. "How about we spend the day together? We can go to a movie, eat out for lunch, and go to the toy store and get you some toys."

Evan had a huge smile on his face and eagerly nodded at the prospect.

Clark stood up and looked to Lois. "How long is it going to take you to get ready?"

"I don't think I should go," Lois answered.

Clark came over to her. "What do you mean?"

"I think it's important that you spend some together, just the two of you. I don't want to be the third wheel in your bonding time," she whispered, so it would be out of Evan's hearing range.

"You can't be a third wheel. You're a part of his family now too. I think we should all bond together as a family."

"Look, the truth is I think I need some more time to digest this. I won't be a merry companion to have along."

"Whatever you want," he said softly. Louder and so that Evan could hear, he said, "We'll bring you back some popcorn from the movies."

Lois smiled and joked, "Forget the popcorn. I want a toy."

---

Lois was in bed when Clark and Evan got home that night. She pretended to be asleep. If Clark noticed that she was faking, he didn't say anything. He only pulled her blanket higher and kissed her cheek. Maybe she was being immature about it, but she still hadn't managed to wrap her head around the news yet. She didn't feel like talking about it and because she hadn't come to terms with it, she didn't know how she was going to deal with other people's responses to the news.

There were so many people in their lives they had to tell, it made her head spin just thinking about. She got an ill, cold feeling in the pit of her stomach when she though of having to tell her dad. The general hadn't been keen on the idea of her marrying Clark in the first place. To the people that didn't know him well, he came off as a "pansy". These were the general's words, not hers. He had just gotten to the point where he tolerated Clark. Finding out he had a son that wasn't her son was going to knock him back down a few pegs and she was sure to hear I-told-you-sos from her father. That he had always suspected that there was something off about Clark Kent and she should have married a military man. It made her feel nauseous. She was going to develop an ulcer before it was over.

---

The next day Clark and Lois had to go to work and they were taking Evan to Martha to watch. The Justice League had other things to do then babysit. Chloe worked. So his grandmother was their only option.

At breakfast, Evan handed her a plastic bag. "What's this?" she asked, peering in. It was a blonde Barbie doll.

Clark smiled. "Evan picked it out for you. You said you wanted a toy, remember?"

Recollection filled her eyes. "Oh, right. Thank you, Evan."

"Daddy told me too."

Clark ruffled his hair. The dark, sleek hair that was so much like Lana's.

"Girls like dolls and stuff," Evan told her.

Her lips twitched a little in amusement. "I guess they do."

"You know Lois likes things like karate and video games," Clark told him.

Evan looked up at her surprised, "Really?"

"I'm a third degree black belt and my favorite game is a tie between Ninja Attack and Guitar Hero. What's your favorite video game?" she asked. Maybe this was her key to connecting with him.

He shrugged. "I don't have video games at my house."

"I've got a Wii in my closet. It provides fun and a little exercise. You want me to hook it up for you when we get back?"

He nodded eagerly. Clark looked pleased that they were starting to bond.

---

A little later they were in Smallville in the driveway of the Kent farm.

"I bet this will be a bit of a surprise to your mother," Lois said. "I still think you should have called her on the phone and told her instead of showing up with him on her doorstep."

Clark looked a little nervous. "I don't think it's the kind of thing you tell somebody on the phone either, but maybe you're right. Why don't you wait out here with Evan and I'll go prepare her?"

She nodded and he made his way up onto the porch. He started to knock, but his fist paused midair. He wasn't sure how to go about telling her, but he took a deep breath and then knocked anyway.

She opened the door with a pleasantly surprised look on her face. "Clark, what are you doing here? Did Lois come with you?" she tried to look past him to see, but he blocked her view.

"Mom, I have something important to tell you."

She stopped trying to look past him. "This sounds serious."

"It is. I'm a father."

A smile appeared on her face, replacing her previously worried look and she hugged him. "That's great, honey. Where's Lois? You two must be so happy. You're making sure she's eating healthy, aren't you?"

"Well, that's the thing. Lois isn't pregnant. It's Lana."

"Clark Joseph Kent," Martha gasped in a mixture of shock and disappointment.

"Lana isn't pregnant either. I didn't cheat. It was a long time ago, back when she and I were still together. I didn't even know it until a couple of days ago."

"Oh," the shock was gone, but the disappointment lingered. She tried to hide it with a smile. "Well, where is this grandson of mine?"

Clark finally moved so that she had a clear view of the car. He motioned for them to get out. "His name's Evan."

Lois had to help him get unlatched from his booster seat. "How is she taking it?" Martha asked Clark.

"Well as can be expected I guess. As least she hasn't left me. That's a good sign, right?"

"And you want me to watch him while you and Lois work?"

"If you don't mind. He has my strength, so be prepared for that."

Lois and Evan stepped up onto the porch. "Hi, Evan," Martha said gently. "I'm your grandmother."

He looked at her in awe. "I've never had a grandmother before."

She gave him a genuine smile. "Well, you do now. Have you had breakfast?"

He nodded.

"Are you all coming in?" she asked, looking to Clark and Lois.

"We have to get to work," Lois said.

Clark looked at his watch. "I guess we could spare 5 minutes though."

Lois didn't really want to spare 5 minutes. Of course, work wasn't going to go any better. Perry and Jimmy were their close friends and they had to tell them about Evan before they found out on their own.

Evan found Shelby and was playing with him. Shelby didn't seem to mind. Clark, Lois, and Martha took a seat in the living room. An awkward silence hung in the air. Then the timer in the kitchen went off.

"My muffins are ready. Lois, do you want to help me?"

Lois was surprised. She wasn't often asked to help out in the kitchen, but then she realized that Martha probably wanted to have a private word with her. Clark seemed to know it too. He called Evan and Shelby over to talk to and play with.

Lois put on oven mitts and took the muffins out of the oven for her.

"How are you and Evan hitting it off?" Martha asked.

She shrugged, "I don't think he likes me. He likes my Wii though."

She smiled, "Give it some time. You're a great person and he seems like a sweet kid. He'll love you and you'll love him before it's over."

"The important thing is that he loves Clark. They're already acting like father and son."

"He hasn't grown up with a dad and you know my son, he loves kids. It's only natural that their relationship would form faster."

She nodded.

"Clark isn't mine genetically and look how much we love each other. We couldn't love each other more if we did share genes and the same was true with his dad."

"But you adopted him. He didn't remember his other parents."

"The principle is the same. Families don't always have to be related to love each other."

"What if Mr. Kent had found out that he was a father by another woman?"

"Of course, it would have been hard. No one said it was easy. Love takes time and work. "

"When's the last time you heard a fairytale with a nice stepmother? The character sheds her by the end of the story."

"Life isn't a fairytale, sweetheart."

"No, but stepmothers are disposable parts of the family. Why get attached?"

"You aren't disposable to Clark. I know lots of people who love their stepmother like a second mother."

"Really?"

"Really, and some of those people got a stepmother later than Evan did. Give it some--"

"Time," Lois finished for her.

"Right," she said, hugging Lois. "Just think some people aren't supposed to like their mother-in-law."

She laughed. "Thank you, Mrs. Kent. I do feel better." It was true for now, but not everybody was as understanding as Mrs. Kent was.

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

They got off the elevator. Everything seemed normal, but Lois felt paranoid like everyone was staring at her. She knew they couldn't know and if they did, it had nothing to do with anything she did.

Clark seemed to know a little of how she was feeling and gently squeezed her hand. He was being wonderful during all this, but she couldn't shake how she felt.

They went straight to Perry's office. He held up his hands for them to wait. He was giving an assignment to another reporter. Then he motioned them over after the other reporter left, "Have a seat. How was your personal day?"

"Fine, sir," Clark said.

Lois just tried to pull together a smile, but it wasn't very convincing.

Perry laughed. "I bet Kent here had to force you to do it, but don't worry, Lane. It was a slow news day. No Superman sightings."

Lois didn't even try to attempt another smile.

"There's something we have to tell you--" Clark began.

"You're going to another paper," interrupted an alarmed Perry.

"No, nothing work-related. It's something of a personal nature."

Perry looked to Lois. She was silent. She was letting Clark lead the conversation and he knew that meant it was something serious indeed. "Somebody died?" he queried.

"No," Clark answered.

"Well, spit it out, Kent."

"I have a son," Clark said.

"And I have a stepson," Lois said.

Perry's face read surprise and then a bit of gruffness toward Clark, "With who?"

"An old, _old_ girlfriend," Clark answered.

"You mean that little girl you used to hang around with in Smallville?"

"That's the one," Clark said guiltily.

Perry shook his head, "That's a shame. I had a feeling that girl was trouble. Did you get a DNA test done to be sure?"

Lois smiled in spite of herself. Clark nodded.

"Well, then that's that I guess. Nice boy?"

"Yes, sir," Clark answered.

Perry looked to Lois. She nodded.

"If you ever need a babysitter, you can depend on Alice and me."

"Thank you, sir," Clark said, shaking his hand.

Lois was out the door first and Clark was right behind her. They went over to their desks. "That didn't go so bad," Clark said.

"No," Lois agreed.

Jimmy approached them brightly, "Need me along for any stor--hey, what's with you guys? You look kind of glum," he meant Lois more than Clark, but Clark didn't look to be a barrel of sunshine either. They both looked very serious.

"It's nothing bad, but uh, can we go somewhere private?" Clark told him. "Like the café across the street."

"That's real private," Lois said with a roll of her eyes.

"You know what I mean," Clark replied. It was the newsroom full of inquisitive, sometimes harsh, people they had to protect themselves from.

"Sure," Jimmy said, full of concern. "Did somebody die? Are you leaving the Planet?"

Clark and Lois both had to smile. Were those the worst possible scenarios that anybody could think of. "Nothing like that," Clark assured him.

They took a seat around the little table in the corner of the café. "Well?" Jimmy asked.

This was getting easier after the third time of telling somebody, so Lois spoke up this time, "Clark and Lana have a 5 year old son."

Jimmy's mouth fell open and his eyes were on Clark.

Clark nodded to confirm it.

"Wow, I don't know what to say," Jimmy said.

The waitress automatically brought them the kinds of coffee they liked. They came in there a lot.

"It's big news," Jimmy said. "But I have the faith that if any couple could handle this, you could. I've always had faith in you guys. You'll make great parents."

"Thanks," Clark said with a smile.

Lois gave Jimmy another of her many forced smiles today and then took a sip of coffee. Clark did make a great parent. She was sure she didn't and it wasn't because she was a stepparent. She'd never had a great example in the general when it came to parenthood. She'd barely come to terms with the possibility of being a mother to a kid of her own, much less someone else's, but she had thought she was going to have 9 months to prepare. Instead, she had it thrust upon her all at once. She glanced at Clark. Did he know how insecure she was about it?

"Have you told Chloe yet?" Jimmy wanted to know. They had split up awhile ago, but had managed to remain friends.

They shook their heads.

"You better tell her soon," he advised. "Chloe won't like it if she's left out of the loop."

They all went back to the Planet and finished up the day satisfactorily. Clark did a couple of Superman jobs and Lois delved into a tiresome, uninteresting story, but it kept her mind off of things. It hadn't become general knowledge at the Planet anyway. Lois knew she had to get over the mood she was in. She just had a tired, nauseous feeling that wouldn't go away ever since she had learned the news. Ignoring it wasn't helping it. She knew she had to have a long, serious talk with Clark. She watched him scoop Evan up as Evan rattled on about his day. She probably wouldn't get a chance until much later. As she listened to his stories about Shelby and the farm, she had to smile. She couldn't deny that he wasn't a cute kid and she was starting to develop a soft spot for him.

TBC


	9. Chapter 9

Lois was sitting up in bed, waiting for Clark to come in. He was tucking Evan in for the night.

He finally came in with a smile and started undressing while he talked about Evan's latest antics. Lois smiled, patiently waiting for him to get into bed.

She wasn't sure how she wanted to approach the topic. She wasn't even sure what she wanted to talk about first, the fact that Lana was the mother of his child was still bothering her somewhat or that she didn't know the first thing about being a good stepmother. Evan had thanked her for the Wii earlier and had even given her a little hug, so that was progress, but she couldn't continue to bribe him for his love.

Clark leaned over and kissed her neck. She stiffened up, "What are you doing?" She wasn't sure she was ready yet for intimacy, not when she might picture Clark and Lana.

He held up the desk calendar they kept in their bedroom. "According to this calendar, we're supposed to start working on making a baby tonight."

"You're joking, right?" she asked.

He sat up straight, "No, what's wrong?"

"What's wrong is that we have a little boy in the next room or rather you do."

"That's the point, Lois. As much as I love Evan, I want to have a baby with the woman I love too."

"Are you sure you haven't already?"

Clark looked like he had been slapped in the face.

"I'm sorry," Lois apologized. "I didn't mean that. I just can't get rid of this crabby mood that I'm in."

"If it's the way you feel," Clark said, "I'm glad you said it."

"You did love her once."

"Not like I love you."

Her eyes were beginning to shine with tears that were barely being held back, "We weren't together when he was conceived, were we? I mean I know we wouldn't have been officially together given the date, but at least tell me it wasn't after Jimmy and Chloe's wedding, not after we almost kissed."

"We weren't even working together at the Planet yet," he said taking her hand and kissing it. "It was a stupid mistake, not Evan, but my relationship with Lana. She got my powers temporarily and we didn't even think how there might have be consequences and obviously there was."

"So it was around the time she pushed me through the glass?"

"I'm sorry about that. I thought the transfer had affected her on a mental level, but it was made clear later that it was out of her hatred for Lex. I shouldn't have been so blind to it."

Lois snorted. "You're apologizing for something Lana did? How could you have known? I didn't. You want to see the good in people. That's one of the things I love about you." She sighed, "Clark, us having a child goes deeper than Lana. I'm not sure I'm ready to have a child yet."

Clark was taken aback, "You're not ready to have a child? Then what have we been doing?"

"I know how much you wanted a child and I figured that when the time came, I'd learn to be ready, but now I'm not so sure."

"You don't want kids?"

"We have Evan for now. Maybe in a year or two if I start catching onto this parenting thing, but right now--"

"You hate me," he finished for her.

She cupped his cheek, "I could never hate you and don't think I haven't tried in the past. I just think a baby would be too much right now for me anyway. I do love you and somewhere down the road maybe I'm open to kids if we can have them and we may not. Just, please, not right now. It'd be too much. I mean we still have to work on custody arrangements and we'd have to find a bigger apartment and--"

"Maybe you have a point," he said.

She sighed a breath of relief. Maybe she was being a coward. Maybe she didn't want to find out they couldn't have kids or maybe she didn't want their baby to have to compete for his father's attention. She just knew she wasn't ready.

He kissed her neck again, but this time, she was relaxed. She smiled, "I thought we came to an agreement."

"We have," he said, putting his arms around her. "We're not making a baby. We're just showing how much we love each other."

Her smile disappeared, "What about Evan?"

"What about him?"

"He's in the next room."

He laughed, "I locked the door. We're safe."

She wanted to protest, but she got lost in his kisses. Lana was the furthest thing from her mind after all. Clark was hers and she was his and that was all that mattered.

There was an urgent knock on the door, "Daddy, I had a bad dream!"

Clark looked at her apologetically and she gestured for him to get up and let him in. He kissed her one more time for understanding and then went to let him in.

"Can I sleep in here?" Evan asked rather pitifully. "The bad man's going to get me."

"What bad man?" Clark asked gently.

Evan wouldn't elaborate. "Can I sleep in here?"

Lois patted the spot beside her and Evan eagerly jumped on the bed and crawled to it.

Clark mouthed a thank you and Lois just smiled as she turned over to go to sleep.

It was more than the general would have done for her or Lucy. In her house growing up, you didn't admit weaknesses. That's why Lucy had to sleep with and seek comfort from Lois after their mother died. She hoped she was doing right by Evan. She still had trouble admitting her weaknesses, but she'd managed to get a lot out into the open even if it wasn't everything. She wondered if that was enough to keep her own nightmares at bay.

TBC


	10. Chapter 10

The next day at work, Lois was once again burying herself in work, but not with the same fervor that she had yesterday. She smiled when she thought of earlier that morning. It had started off well. There'd been no nightmares of Clark and Lana getting back together that she'd dreamed the last couple of nights. Evan had wanted to hold her hand on the way out to the car and he wanted them both to stay with him when they dropped him off at Martha's. She had been tempted to say "I love you" like Clark did when they left, but she wasn't exactly sure how far she was allowed to take her role. He still had a mother after all. She had just waved instead. She kept thinking about him putting his little hand in hers. It had warmed a special place in her heart. She wondered if maybe she did want a baby after all. She wasn't about to tell Clark though. She didn't want to sound wishy-washy. There was just so much to think about that she hadn't thought about before. She had made the realization that her problem all boiled down to one thing. She was afraid that they couldn't have a baby of their own, but oddly enough, this truth wasn't as alarming to her as it had been last night. She certainly wanted a child of her own, but she was grateful for Evan. She was finally coming to terms with the situation they'd been placed in and she knew for sure that she and Clark could and would survive it.

"Lane!" Perry called.

Lois shook her head as she went into his office. He always sounded like he was ready to chew somebody's head off. "Yes?"

"Where's that husband of yours?"

Clark was off saving the day as usual. There was a huge catastrophe in Australia and it looked like it was going to take him the rest of the day. "Evan got sick. He had to go get him," she lied. Having a kid certainly made the excuses better.

"I've got a story for you then. The police chief is having a press conference on the Rowan murder case. Cover it."

2 hours later, Lois had finished calling the story in. It wasn't an exciting piece, the police had no idea who the murderer was, but there had been a rash of similar cases. It looked like a serial killer. She knew Clark would want to get on this case. She did too, of course, but she was still feeling drained. Perry had told her she could have the rest of the day off to help tend to Evan. That would have been fine except Evan didn't need any tending to. She decided to call Lucy instead. She lived in Metropolis now and she hadn't seen her in awhile, not to mention she had to be told about Evan.

They met over a late lunch. Neither one of them had eaten yet.

"Lois, you don't look well," Lucy said, as she gave her sister a greeting hug.

"Thanks, Luce."

The waitress came and took their orders.

"So?" Lucy asked.

"So what?" Lois asked back.

"You look like you have something on your mind."

"Clark and Lana have a 5 year old son."

"What and he didn't tell you?" Lucy said, her eyes flashing. She came to her feet. "Where is he? I'll go kick his butt for you."

"Relax. He didn't know either. Lana didn't tell him until she needed somebody to watch him over the summer."

"Then let me at Lana and I'll kick her butt."

Lois laughed. She'd needed that. It's not that other people hadn't been on her side through this like Clark and Martha, but nobody could be on your side like a sister. "Sit down. If anybody's going to kick Lana's butt, it's going to be me."

Lucy sat down, "Have you told Chloe?"

"No, not yet. She travels so much, it's hard to keep track of her. We tried calling. She's supposed to visit later this month, so I guess we'll tell her then."

Lucy looked pleased that she knew first. Lois knew she was a little jealous of Chloe because she felt like Chloe had taken her place while Lois was living in Smallville. Chloe was nice to confide in at times and when Lucy had been too wild to be a confidant, Chloe had filled the role, but Chloe also felt the need to take everybody's side. She felt a loyalty toward Clark and Lana as well as to her cousin. Which wasn't necessarily a bad thing because everybody's viewpoint was presented, but sometimes she wanted a little family biasness and that she could only get from Lucy.

"Have you told Dad?" Lucy asked.

"Not yet."

"Good luck with that. So how are you taking this?"

"Better than a couple of days ago. I really like Evan. I think you'll like him too when you meet him."

"Takes after his father rather than his mother, huh?"

Lois tried to frown, but ended up smiling instead, "Stop that."

Lucy smiled back.

Their sandwiches came.

"Oh, Lucy," Lois said, making a face. "What did you order? That smells awful. It's making me sick."

Lucy looked at her strangely. "It's just turkey." She pulled off the bread and drew it closer, "And mayonnaise."

Lois put her hand over mouth. "Get it away. It must be a funny brand. I don't think I want to eat here anymore."

"Well, at least it doesn't have tomatoes," she said, pointing at Lois' sandwich and taking a bite out of her own. She saw that Lois wasn't eating. "Aren't you going to eat your own nasty sandwich?"

Lois pushed it away. "No, I can't eat it now."

"You want to go somewhere else?"

She shook her head. "I'll just wait until supper."

Lucy looked at her with narrowed eyes. "You're taking care of yourself, aren't you?"

"I'm not starving myself if that's what you mean. I've just been feeling under the weather since I found out."

"Is it just nausea that's been bothering you?"

"Well, now that you mention it, I've been dizzy and tired too. I chalked it up to the situation, but maybe I am coming down with something."

"You better go to the doctor," Lucy told her in a commanding tone.

"Who's the older sister here?"

"I mean it. If you don't, I'll call Clark and tell him to make you go."

"Yes, ma'am," Lois said with a mock salute. She stood up, "You know I think I'm going to go ahead and get out of here. Your sandwich isn't smelling any better. Thanks for meeting me though. I knew I could count on you to cheer me up."

"Call me and tell me what the doctor says."

Lois rolled her eyes as she walked away. "Goodbye, Lucy."

TBC


	11. Chapter 11

Lois was at the doctor's office. She had to be or Lucy would go through with her threat of calling Clark. The doctor was a family practitioner and there were people of all ages waiting. She hated having to wait. She started losing patience after 2 minutes. Normally, she didn't have to wait for a doctor though. Her ailments were usually enough to send her straight to the doctor, first priority. The hospital was like a second home, something her insurance wasn't too happy about. However, during this particular wait a parenting magazine caught her attention. Now that there was Evan, she could use all the advice she could get.

She scanned the table of contents. Some of the articles looked corny like 'What to do When your Child Thinks He's a Vampire: How to Stop Biting' or 'Dealing with the Yellow Monster on Wheels: How to Handle you and your Child's School Separation Anxiety'.

She zeroed in on one that had all the relevancy in the world for her, even if the title was as corny as the others, 'Step Parenting: How to Climb onto that Step without Tripping'. She flipped to the page and started reading.

_"Statistics say that up to 50% of all marriages end in divorce and that over 80% of those who are divorced will someday remarry. With this in mind, it's also been estimated that approximately one third of all children spend a part of their childhood with a stepparent. It's only natural then that many adults will someday find themselves in the difficult role of stepparent."_

Lois shook her head. That was a great way to begin the article. Scare somebody with statistics like that.

_"One of the biggest mistakes that stepparents make is trying to make the step family the same as nuclear family. Stepfamilies are not the same as nuclear families. They are very different."_

Lois paused again. Scare them with statistics and then dishearten them, what a great strategy. Wasn't love something that made all families the same?

_"Stepparents should take it slow and not step in too soon because this can lead to a lot of resentment. Gradually getting involved with raising the children tends to be a far more successful way of handling step parenting."_

That was something she could see. She'd certainly been taking it slow. Of course, Evan, didn't grow up with Clark, so maybe that made the situation a little different for her.

_"A stepparent needs to follow the lead of the biological parent. Try to fit in with what they have traditionally done with the children, to support that parent, to be a responsible adult when the parent is not around, but leave the disciplining to the biological parent of the children."_

The step parenting article wasn't as applicant as she thought. Clark had no previous way of doing things, but maybe letting him discipline Evan was a good idea.

_"If you want your role as a stepparent to be a good one, it's necessary that you remain neutral about stepchildren's biological parents. If a stepparent gets into bad mouthing a parent that's outside of the home,"_ --Shoot, that was going to be a hard one, thought Lois-- _"it's a very risky thing to do because you run the risk of alienating the child, and of having the child feel that they are being untrue to that parent. It's very important to simply take a neutral position and emphasize that both parents have a right to a relationship with the child." _

Lois snorted. Did that count when Lana didn't give Clark that right for the first 5 years of Evan's life?

_"Children need--"_

A kid fell over her feet. He had been running around the room and apparently hadn't noticed them. He looked to be about 4. He had blonde hair and big blue eyes and was staring up at her curiously, wondering what Lois was going to do to him.

His mother looked mortified. "Cameron, you say you're sorry to the lady right now. I told you you can't run at the doctor's office."

The little boy told her sorry and then got up and got the wire maze toy he'd been running to get.

His mother gave her another added apology for good measure, "He's a little hyperactive. You know how kids can be, I'm sure," she said, gesturing toward the magazine. "How many do you have?"

"Just one, a son. Well, I mean he's not my son. He's my stepson."

She smiled. "That's great. I've got an 8 year old stepdaughter. I love her to pieces. In fact, we've put a ban on words like step in our house. The word only serve to alienate people and make it sound substandard. We say sister, brother, daughter, son, mother, father. My husband's ex-wife doesn't mind. Who says you can't have more than 2 parents? Adoptive parents don't have that issue; why should stepparents?"

"I have a feeling my husband's ex-girlfriend would mind if I referred to him as my son. Better I say stepson or your son, not my son. It's a lovely idea though."

"It is. You should see the way my stepdaughter lights up when I introduce her as my daughter. Young kids especially appreciate it, but you have to gauge the situation you're in. It depends on the age and relationship with the biological parent."

"Lois Lane," the nurse called.

She thanked the woman for her advice and then followed the nurse through the twisting hallways and into her room. The first thing the nurse made her do was get on the scales. Lois flinched when she saw that she had put on a couple pounds.

The nurse checked her temperature. "Temperature's normal. The doctor will be with you in a minute."

Lois looked around the room while she waited. It was a typical doctor's room. She wonder what the point of bringing a person back here just to have them wait even longer.

"I'm Dr. Patterson," the doctor said when he got there. He was usually the image that came to mind when you thought doctor: tall, handsome, graying at the temples. He looked to be about 40 and friendly as he shook her hand. " I'm going to ask you a few questions," he said as he read over the checklist of symptoms that she had filled out in the waiting room.

"Go ahead," Lois said.

"How long have you been feeling under the weather now?"

"A few days I guess. I had some hard news, so I think it's just stress."

"It might be. Have you been getting plenty of sleep?"

"As much as possible. Like I said I've been under some stress, but I've operated under less sleep before."

"When's the last time you had sex with your partner?"

"It's not an STD if that's what you're thinking," Lois told him with a glare.

"I just have to cover all the bases, so I can figure out what's wrong."

"About a week ago."

"Have you taken any medication lately?" he asked her.

"Just some aspirin a couple of days ago," she replied.

"I think that's answered what I need to know for now. I'm going to get a nurse to draw your blood for some testing and then I'll be back."

"Do you know what's wrong?"

"I have a hunch," he said.

"Is it a virus?" she asked.

"Patience is a virtue," he said with a smile as he left the room.

It was easy to have patience when it wasn't your body that was the subject of conversation. She hated doctors and doctor's offices. She wished she hadn't come.

The nurse came in with the supplies to pump blood. She pulled out a shiny, new needle. "Is this really necessary?" Lois asked.

The nurse smiled warmly as she rubbed a spot on her arm with alcohol. "The doctor requested it. It won't hurt if you relax your arm and look away."

Lois rolled her eyes and sighed heavily. "Hold still, Ms. Lane."

Despite the nurse's suggestion, she looked anyway. It would make her more nervous not to see if the job was being done competently. The pain didn't bother her either. She'd had much worse done to her. She just thought the whole process was a waste of time. "Does he think I have anemia?"

The nurse smiled, "You shouldn't try to diagnose yourself. Just wait until the doctor tells you himself." The nurse gave her a hospital gown.

"What's this? Don't tell me I have to go to the hospital."

"No, the doctor just wants a complete exam."

Lois changed and then waited some more. He finally knocked.

"Come in," she said.

He started putting on gloves.

"You're very thorough when somebody tell you they're sick," Lois complained.

He didn't answer, but proceeded to examine her. "Yep," he finally said.

"What do you mean 'yep'? What does that mean?"

"You're pregnant," he told her.

Lois started to say something, but it wouldn't come out.

The doctor threw his gloves away, " I bet that doesn't happen very often."

"What? Me getting pregnant? I guess it doesn't."

"I meant you being stunned speechless. You're about 5 weeks along. Everything looks normal. I'll call if there's anything irregular with the blood test. You can set up another appointment if you'd like or you can go to a specialist. No more medication now unless you check it out with me or another doctor, not even aspirin. I have some papers and brochures on pregnancy," he said, handing them to her. "You're probably familiar with most of the drill: no smoking or drinking, lots of milk, no heavy exercise, avoid a lot of caffeine. It goes into depth telling you what foods you want to avoid like raw eggs, for example. Read over it and don't be hesitant to call if you have any questions."

Lois' thoughts were still on the fact that she was pregnant. "But I took a test a couple of weeks ago and it was negative."

"It happens. Home tests don't always do a great job of detecting it right away."

Then a horrible thought crossed her mind. "I drank a lot a couple of nights ago."

"How much?"

Lois felt guilty. She should have known better than to drink at all when they were trying to conceive. "I lost track at some point, but a lot."

"Well, I can't say that's good, but it doesn't automatically mean that the baby will develop Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. Just don't drink anymore, not even a tiny glass."

Lois hoped that since the baby was half Kryptonian, the risk would be very small. After all, alcohol didn't affect Clark. Then another thought crossed her mind. She was pregnant with a half Kryptonian. How normal was the pregnancy going to be? Clark was probably going to want to consult Lana on this one, which was enough to bring back her nausea that had started to go away. She wondered what Evan would think of the prospect of having a little brother or sister.

"I'm sure Mr. Lane will be happy to hear the news," the doctor said, interrupting her thoughts.

"Kent," she corrected. "We're married. I just kept my maiden name."

"I'm looking at your medical records. You haven't been for a physical in quite awhile."

"I was in the hospital a month and a half ago."

"That's not the same thing. You should have a physical every other year. You'll need regular appointments during your pregnancy."

"I know. I'll schedule them, so don't worry." She hated doctors appointments, but she would stand them if it meant a healthy baby.

On the way out of the office, she checked her watch. It was 4:02. They didn't normally pick up Evan until 6:00, but she wanted to go ahead and do it. She was determined that having their own child wouldn't get in the way of her growing relationship with her stepson.

"I came to get Evan early," Lois announced to Martha when she arrived.

"Clark already came and got him. Didn't he tell you?"

Lois' eyebrows knitted in confusion. "No. That's a little strange that he wouldn't have came and found me." She checked her cell phone. "Well, it's dead. Maybe he tried to call and tell me. With superpowers that's no excuse," she said jokingly. It wasn't completely a joke, but she was too happy about the news to be too annoyed with him.

A little later she was coming up the hallway to their own door. She was excited. She was rehearsing mentally about how to break the good news to him. She swung open the front door and a strange scene met her eyes.

Lana was there. She and Clark were laughing over something Evan had said. Evan was grinning sheepishly. She suddenly felt back to feeling like an outsider watching a family scene that she shouldn't be watching.

TBC


	12. Chapter 12

Clark noticed Lois standing in the doorway first. "Lois, I tried to get a hold of you."

She held up her cell phone, "My cell phone's dead. I've been catching up with Lucy."

"Lana's back," Clark told her.

"I can see that, Clark," Lois said through gritted teeth. She finally made her way over to join the group. "I thought you were going to be gone the entire summer?" she directed at Lana.

"Well, I was," Lana said, "but I lost my job."

"How do you lose a job digging? I would think that they wouldn't cut back or finish up in 3 days time." Clark shot her a warning look not to try to pick a fight, but she chose to ignore it.

"Well, I may have stretched the truth on my application," Lana explained, "but I was desperate and I have helped track down priceless artifacts before like the 3 stones, haven't I, Clark?"

It took all the strength Lois had not to roll her eyes at Lana's words.

"I told her we might be able to find her a job," Clark said.

Lois heart all, but stopped, "Not at the Planet?" She couldn't take seeing her on a daily basis, invading her work life too.

"Of course not," Clark replied, "but we've made some connections in Metropolis over the years. I think we can find her something."

"Thank you, Clark," Lana said in her syrupy, sweet voice. "How can I ever thank you enough?"

Lois found her fingers curling. She didn't know what it was, but there was something about Lana that just made Lois want to haul off and deck her. It wasn't just her relationship with Clark either. She tried to remember that Lana had saved her life once and that Evan was still present.

"You can thank me by letting us spend a little more time with Evan," Clark said. "We'll have to figure out how we're going to split the time too."

Lana looked confused. "Split the time? Evan's my son."

"But he's my son too," Clark said. Lois could sense an argument brewing.

"Why don't we go play on the Wii?" Lois suggested to Evan. "It's been awhile since I've played. I think you need to show me how Guitar Hero goes. We can have a battle of the bands."

Evan looked reluctant to leave his newly returned mom, but he couldn't resist the video game and he started to follow after Lois.

"Hold on," Lana stopped them. "I don't let my son play video games."

Lois turned around, surprised. "Why on earth not? It's better than passively viewing television."

"Because it's been proven that children who play video games become more aggressive and desensitized to violence."

"That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. I turned out okay, didn't I?" Lois realized that given her aggressive nature and many encounters with violence, that may not have been the best example. "Besides, it's Guitar Hero. It's rated E for everyone. The worst possible outcome is that he would want to learn to play a real guitar."

Lana shook her head. "It inspires a competitive nature. I don't want that for my son."

Lois was about to retort that it wasn't just her son anymore, but Evan was starting to look a little scared and she knew Clark would disapprove of the language that she might pepper her retort with, so she decided it was best to back off for now. "We'll get some cupcakes and TV time instead. How about that?" she directed to Evan.

Evan looked hesitant again.

"Your dad made them," she clarified. That made him move again. He had had an encounter with her cooking when Clark hadn't returned to fix supper the other night.

Once they were in the kitchen, Lois got him some milk, a cupcake, and turned on the TV.

Her original plan had been to stay with Evan, but she decided that she needed to be out there backing up Clark. Sometimes his confrontations with people weren't as mighty as when he was in super mode and it concerned her too. She squatted down to Evan's eyelevel, "Honey, you need to stay in here until someone gets you or calls for you. The grownups need to talk, okay?" He nodded.

"I'm sorry," Lana was saying when Lois got in there, "but I'm not sharing custody of Evan."

Clark obviously was having trouble knocking her down a couple of pegs. He was too nice most of the time. Now that Evan was in the other room, Lois was ready to light into her.

"Excuse me? You're not going to share custody?" Lois asked incredulously. "You waltz in here unannounced because you need something and then you think you can take him back and we'll all pretend that nothing ever happened?"

Clark smiled at Lois appreciatively

"Look," Lana said taking the tone of somebody ready to compromise. "I usually use Aunt Nell to handle babysitting when I need it, she's been in and out of the hospital lately. That's why I had to come here in the first place. Maybe Clark can watch him sometimes when Aunt Nell isn't feeling good."

"Clark is not his babysitter or a distant relative. He's Evan's father for crying out loud!"

"I'm his mother. I'm the one that's raised him. I'm the one that carried him 9 months."

"Let me explain to you how parenting works. It's a 50/50 deal. Without Clark, you couldn't have become a mother. Clark can't help it that he hasn't participated in raising him. You never gave him a chance and until a parent is proven unfit or gives up their rights, the kid is supposed to spend equal time with both. Is this starting to make sense?"

Lana had lost all pretenses of playing nice. "First, he has to prove that he's the father."

"That can certainly be arranged. Clark's already had a DNA test done to make you didn't stretch the truth on that too." Lois was stretching the truth a little too. They couldn't use a Jor-El certified test in court, but Lana didn't need to know that.

"Well, if you want to take this to cour--"

"You bet your sweet life we're taking this to court," Lois interrupted.

Lana smiled. "Have it your way, but meanwhile Evan comes with me. Evan!"

Evan obediently came to his mother.

"Say goodbye to your father," Lana told him.

Evan waved at both Clark and Lois and then Lana started to pull him out of the door.

"Aren't you going to get his things?" Clark asked.

"You can send them to me when we get settled," Lana said.

"Goodbye, Evan," Clark called following out into the hallway. "I'll see you soon."

He didn't know if he heard him because he and Lana were already getting in the elevator. He came back into the apartment.

"What did you ever see in her?" Lois asked.

"Honestly, I'm not sure." He went over to the phone book that was laying out on the desk and sat down with it. "I've got to find a good lawyer to represent us and I want an honest one."

Lois smirked. "Good luck with that. You'll probably be up all night looking for one and still not find one."

He was already scanning over the names and barely acknowledged her comment. Lois was feeling tired after her fight with Lana. "I think I'm going to turn in early."

Clark looked up at her with concern. "Are you feeling okay? It's not even dark out."

Lois started to tell him she was pregnant, but she was tired and she wanted to wait until the perfect time to tell him. Not when he was worrying over who was going to get custody of Evan. Lana may have cast a shadow over their lives, but Lois wasn't going to allow her to cast a shadow over this. "Just one of those days I guess," she replied.

He nodded and went back to the phonebook.

"Smallville?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't worry about not getting custody. You're a good man and a good father, and any judge would be crazy not to see that."

He smiled at her. "Thank you, sweetheart, for everything. I don't know what I'd do without you."

She rubbed his shoulder and bent down to kiss him, "You better not ever try to find out."

He chuckled and she headed to bed. Why did Lana have to bring drama with her every time she made an appearance?

TBC


	13. Chapter 13

The next morning when Clark gave Lois her morning coffee, she said, "No, thank you. I'm not in the mood for coffee this morning."

Clark looked at her like she'd gone crazy. It was probably the first time in history she'd ever turned down coffee without being sick. She wondered if she had given it away.

"I feel pretty wound up from everything. If I have coffee, I want decaf."

He disappeared and then reappeared with a decaf from her favorite coffee place.

"I didn't mean you had to get it literally, but thanks anyway, Smallville. Did you find a good lawyer?"

"I think so. I looked him up online and he seems pretty honest. I made an appointment for an interview at 2:00. Are you coming with me?"

"I guess I'd better if a story doesn't get in the way." She took a deep breath. It was a new day and a new chance to tell him about the pregnancy. "I have some good news in all of this. I--"

"I'm sorry, but there's an emergency. Can it wait?"

"I guess it'll have too."

He kissed her and then flew off. That was the trouble with being Superman's wife. You never knew when you were going to get cut off mid-sentence due to an emergency. She was proud of all the good he did, but annoyed that she wasn't going to get a chance to tell him until after work now. Maybe there was a more romantic way of breaking the news anyway. If she had culinary skills, she could break it over a nice dinner. Maybe they could go out somewhere romantic.

She was reading over the Rowan file when Clark came into work. "Having any luck?" he asked.

"No. There has to be a pattern that connects all these murders. No children or elderly people, at least. They're of both gender between the ages of 25 and 57, different races and religions. I just don't see what their common link is. Maybe it's just random."

"Did you learn anything at the press conference?"

"No," Lois said with a frustrated sigh. "Even if they did know something, they wouldn't release it to the press until they caught the guy or girl as the case may be. Whoever it is, is definitely a seasoned professional. "

He picked up the files. "They don't even get a chance to scream for help. I've been listening for screams."

"It's a sad situation. I haven't checked out the last crime scene yet. I'm going to go do that now before they take all the police tape away."

"Perry's got me on another story now. If you need anything just call and be--"

"Careful. I know." She wondered with amusement if he'd let her go at all if he knew about her pregnancy. It was nice to think of him worrying about her and the baby, not that she intended to let that stop her investigations. She would be cooped and limited enough in her later pregnancy.

While she was out, Lucy called her on her cell phone. "Have you gone to the doctor yet?"

"And an hello to you too," Lois said.

"Have you?"

"Yes, Momma Lucy. I've been."

"And?"

She figured she might as well tell her before Lucy told Clark about her needing to see a doctor. She looked around almost afraid somebody would overhear her and she whispered into the phone, "I'm pregnant."

"Oh, I knew it!" squealed Lucy. "What did Clark say?"

"I haven't told him yet."

"Are you crazy? You have to tell him."

"I know I'm just trying to find the right time. Things keep getting in the way. We have to battle for custody of Evan for one thing."

"There's something wrong with that woman. You don't think she's trying to break you two up or something?"

"Why?"

"Why not? If she couldn't have Clark, she may not want you to have him either."

"That's a little too late, wouldn't you say? Even Lana isn't that juvenile. If she had wanted to hold onto him, she could have used Evan as collateral when she got pregnant. "

"I don't know. I can't help, but think there's something fishy about the timing of everything."

"I think she's just being selfish. I don't think we have to worry about anything when it comes to custody. She doesn't have a steady job and she didn't tell Clark about Evan."

"I'm sure you won't. Don't forget to tell Clark about the bundle of joy coming your way. Don't let this custody thing get in the way of your good news."

"I won't. Goodbye."

"Aunt Lucy has a nice ring to it, don't you think? Maybe I should go more exotic and think of a cool way to say aunt like Tia Lucy."

"Goodbye, Tía Lucy," Lois laughed.

"See you soon."

When she got back from the crime scene and harassing the police for more information, it was time for lunch and then the lawyer's appointment. She hadn't learned a whole lot. It was a puzzling case. The same gun was used in every instance, an untraceable gun and that seemed to be the only evidence there was.

At 2:00 on the dot, they sat down with the lawyer and Clark explained the situation. "How long is it going to take before we can get custody?"

"Well, first we'll have to serve the mother with papers," the lawyer explained. "It'll take about 2 weeks to settle on temporary custody and a month for permanent custody if everything goes well. Do you want joint custody or full custody?"

"Joint custody," Clark said. "I don't want to take his mother away from him."

"That'll certainly make you look more favorable. I have to tell you though that custody cases seem to go in favor of the mother a lot of times, but if your records are clean, that won't be a problem."

"I don't want dirt dragged up on his mother," Clark said. "I want this to be a peaceful proceeding."

"Understood."

"It may be a little tough serving her," Lois spoke up. "She hasn't a permanent address as far as we know. She's between jobs, but her last job may have paid her a little. She might be in a local hotel."

"I hope she didn't leave," Clark said. "According to the contact information she gave me, she lives in Iowa. I have her cell too." He gave the lawyer the information.

"With any luck, she doesn't have enough for plane fare," Lois said.

"We'll locate her for you if we can," the lawyer told them. "I'll call and let you know when she's been served."

After some more discussion about legal proceedings and how it was going to work, they left feeling pretty good that he was the right lawyer to handle the case. They had to work late until 7:00 and then Clark had some work to do as Superman.

Night rolled around and Lois still hadn't gotten a chance to tell him. It was ridiculous. Maybe she should just leave him a note or let the baby tell him when it came. Maybe a chance would arise tomorrow.

Just as she was beginning to drift off to sleep, Clark woke her up with a sudden, "Lois!"

"What?" she shot straight up and searched the room wildly, expecting there to be a fire or something.

"There's an extra heartbeat."

She looked under the bed, expecting the serial killer or somebody equally as sinister to be under there. "Where?"

"From you. There's an extra heartbeat coming from you. You're pregnant."

TBC


	14. Chapter 14

"You can be really annoying sometimes. You know that?" Lois said.

"So it's true? You're pregnant?"

"Well, unless I grew another heart, I guess so."

He stared intensely at her stomach. "I can see it."

Lois rolled her eyes. "Would you quit that? You're not an ultrasound machine."

He had a wide smile, obviously thrilled by the news. "We're going to have a baby," he said, stating the obvious.

She smiled, joining his enthusiasm. They were going to have a baby. He hugged her and then they shared a joyful kiss.

When they broke away, he asked, "Did you already know?"

"I found out yesterday. Lucy blackmailed me into going to the doctor."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I tried, but things kept getting in the way."

"You mean this custody battle?"

"And your Superman duties."

He drew her closer. "I know it's been rough on you, but I hope you know that you can tell me anything, even with all this junk that's going on."

She leaned up and kissed him. "I do know that."

They sat in a blissful silence. Then Lois asked, "Why were you listening to my heartbeat anyway?"

"I listen to your heartbeat sometimes when I'm trying to fall asleep. It's soothing."

She looked at him skeptically, wondering how a heartbeat could be soothing.

"This is so exciting," Clark said. "We should start getting stuff for the baby. I can't wait to tell Mom."

"What do you want, a boy or a girl?" Lois asked. It wasn't as casual a question as it might have been before Evan. He had a son. Did he want a girl now? Would he be less excited over a son?

"I'll be happy either way. Just think our very own baby."

The way he said baby, she realized that it would be their baby to hear him or her say its first word or watch it take its first step. Things he had missed with Evan.

"Are you happy about the baby?" he asked. He remembered their discussion from a couple of nights ago.

She smiled. "I'm very happy. I think I am ready to be a mother. Evan doesn't seem to mind me too much. I was being silly. I guess I was still insecure about my ability to have a baby and the Evan situation. It was stupid."

He kissed her forehead, "Stupid, but understandable. I'm just happy that we have this baby now. He or she couldn't have had better timing, it's a gift from heaven."

"That would sound so corny and cliché, if it didn't seem so true." She leaned against him, "And our new family will be complete once we have Evan again."

He nodded. She sounded so confident that they would have Evan again, it gave him added hope. He couldn't wait until this custody battle was over.

---

They found themselves in court a month later. Temporary custody had been given to Lana since she had spent the most time with him and he was more familiar with her, but he had gotten visitation rights once a week, not that it was quality time with Lana staring daggers. Neither Clark or Lois could figure why she had told him at all, if she didn't want Clark to see Evan.

Clark stopped in front of the heavy oaken doors that lead into the courtroom. "I don't think you should go in. Why don't you wait out here?"

Lois got very angry, very fast, "What do you mean I shouldn't go in there? This situation concerns me too!"

He gently rested his hands on her arms to help calm her down. "I didn't mean it that way. I just meant that it could be stressful in there and it wouldn't take much for you to lose your temper. It's important that you stay as calm and stress free as possible in your condition."

Condition was fast becoming the word she hated most in the English language. Clark had been referring to her condition for the past month. At first his protectiveness had been kind of sweet, he refused to super speed, fly, or even drive the car over a certain speed with her. He had also tried to talk Perry out of giving her a couple stories, but that was really unnecessary. Perry hadn't given her any hard, potentially dangerous stories since he found out about his future godson. "Clark, I swear if you say condition one more time, I'm going to slug you. I know what you're saying, but I'll be more stressed if I have to wait out here and wonder what's happening. Besides, I have to be scrutinized too."

"You're right. I just worry about you and the baby."

She took his hand. "There's nothing to worry about. This baby is a Lane-Kent. That says it all. Let's just focus on Evan right now."

They took a deep breath and entered the courtroom. Nell was staring at them in an unfriendly manner. Evan was sitting beside her. Clark was puzzled at why Nell should be mad at them. Custody battles made people strange sometimes. They took their seats. Their lawyer smiled at them. "It's going to be fine. We got a good judge, Judge Taylor." They glanced over at Lana's lawyer. He had a thin, bent nose and beady brown eyes. He had an overall slimy appearance, but he also looked sharp. He smiled and waved at them. Lana pretended not to even see them.

They rose as the judge came out. He was in his 50s with chestnut colored skin and snow-white hair. He looked kind, but he also looked like he didn't put up with any nonsense. After the initial court proceedings, they got down to the nitty-gritty.

Clark went first as the plaintiff. He simply stated his case and didn't say anything bad about Lana. Lana still reflected badly, not telling him he had a son and then showing up to have him watch Evan when it was convenient for her. Lana's lawyer didn't cross-examine Clark, but Lois didn't like the way, he smiled. He was up to something.

Lana took the stand. Lois snorted when Lana swore to tell the whole truth over that holy book. It was a joke given that she had carried a lie directly concerning this case that spanned over 5 years. She looked distressed and saddened as she took a seat. She even took out a tissue and her eyes filled. Lois rolled her eyes. Lana had missed her calling as an actress. She could turn on the waterworks faster than anyone she knew. Lois just hoped the judge could see that it was an act.

"I've always wanted to do what's best for my child and I've done that. I love him and I want to protect him. That's why I can't allow him to be raised by those people. I know his stepmother all too well. Did you know that she's an alcoholic?"

Lois stood up in fury and shouted, "That's a lie!"

The judge banged his gavel. "It's not your turn, madam. You will get a chance to speak your piece, but in the meantime, sit down and keep quiet or I'm afraid I will have to throw you out of this courtroom."

Lois sat down in a huff. Lana looked in her direction. She looked so smug and pleased with herself. Surely the judge could see that.

"Please continue, Miss Lang, and remember that you are under oath and that you need to support your claims."

"Of course, your honor," Lana said sweetly and respectfully.

Lana's lawyer pulled out papers and took them to the judge. "As you can see, Miss Lane was kicked out of Met U for underage drinking. She was also shown to be a violent drunk. Whether or not she paralyzed him, she did kick him."

"I object," said Clark and Lois' lawyer, standing up. "The actions of a teenager have no bearing on now. Miss Lane is not an alcoholic, nor is what I can only imagine to have been self-defense a crime."

"Really?" said Lana's lawyer. "Then she wasn't seen drinking herself into a stupor 5 weeks ago?"

The judge banged his gavel. "Order. I've heard enough on this subject. Do you have anything else to add, Miss Lang?"

"Not only does she drink, your honor, but if you read the papers, she's consistently in life and death situations. Always needing Superman to swoop in and save the day."

"I object," their lawyer said again. "I don't see how this has any bearing on this case." It was a good thing he had spoken up, because Lois would have. She was so livid, she would have been kicked out of court. Lana had been kidnapped, stalked, shot, etc, just as much if not more than she had. It came as a hazard of being around Clark and Lana knew that. Of course, most of those times Lois got herself in trouble with her reporting style or by helping Clark. Their lawyer was right though. It had no bearing. She would never endanger a child.

"Overruled," said Judge Taylor. "Miss Lang, can you please clarify how this is relevant?"

"What's to keep her from getting Evan into those situations? It's just too dangerous an environment for Evan to be in."

Lois was ready to let Lana have it. Lana had no job. She was living off of Nell, which she was sure wasn't a lot for 3 people to live off of. She was a liar, an extortionist, which made Lois wonder where Lana's millions had gone, and Evan had made it clear that Lana was a drinker too. There were probably things Lois didn't even know about. There could be murder and kidnapping on her record for all she knew. Lana had pushed her through glass and sent her to the hospital in her power-hungry rage. She had every intention of sharing that with the judge. Then she looked at Evan. Could she really do that to him? Turn this into a who-can-sling-the-most-mud fight? He loved his mother. She was clearly good to him, even if she wasn't necessarily a good person. She looked at Clark. He looked downhearted. He didn't know how to fight this. Their lawyer didn't look hopeful either. Maybe if they refused to fight fire with fire. The judge would look on that favorably. Lana was finished and Lois defended herself. "I'm not perfect. I drink, but not very often and not to excess. I made a mistake a few weeks when I wasn't feeling well. I can assure you I won't be picking up the bottle again anytime soon, maybe never. As for the danger, I have a dangerous job. I'm a reporter that goes after hard stories and that can lead to sticky situations, but are cops not allowed to have children because they have dangerous jobs? Superman does come to my rescue and I would consider that a good thing. I would never get Evan involved in my stories. My husband is a good man. He's the best. He's a good father too. I've seen it. It would be foolish not to let Evan have his father in his life. That's all I have to say."

"This court is going to take a short break," the judge said, "and will reconvene in 10 minutes with a decision."

Evan was looking restless and bored. Nell took him out of the courtroom for a walk. Clark wasn't looking very cheerful. Lois felt guilty. If it wasn't for her bad record, he would win this case hands down.

The judge came back at the appointed time. "The court has reached a decision--"

Nell came running into the courtroom screaming, "He's gone! He's been kidnapped!"

TBC


	15. Chapter 15

"Kidnapped?" echoed quite a few people, including the judge. Nell motioned for them to follow and they all ran outside to the sidewalk.

Lois looked to Clark with a question in her eyes to see if he knew anything from his powers. He shook his head. That alone was strange. Surely Clark could pick up Evan's voice or see some kind of clue that would lead him to Evan. Clark looked distressed and equally puzzled over why his powers couldn't help. This was no ordinary kidnapping, "Nell, I need you to tell me everything that happened."

Her voice shook as she explained. "Evan was thirsty and I--I went to dig in my purse to see if I had enough change for a drink and when I looked up he--he was gone. He didn't even scream."

'He didn't even scream' echoed through her head. It reminded her of what Clark had said about the serial killer, how he didn't even hear the people scream. Now was not the time to bring that up. It had to be a kidnapping. Maybe he had even gotten super speed and sped off to who knows where. Clark didn't look like he had made a connection with the serial killer. She shuddered at the image of a lifeless Evan. Tears were starting to form at the thought. Clark couldn't take that. She couldn't take that. She had to let go of this awful idea.

Everyone started talking at once, asking questions and thinking of the best approach to take. Clark pulled her off to the side. "I have to look for him. I have to get the Justice League in on this."

"Of course, you do. Hurry up. I'm going to stay here and search in the immediate vicinity. Maybe somebody saw something."

He shook his head adamantly. "Not in your--"

"Don't say it."

"State. I'm going to take you home and I want you to stay put and don't let anyone in, but me."

She knew he was right, which didn't make her like the situation any better. She wanted to help find Evan, but she didn't want any harm to come to the baby. She sighed in defeat.

---

Lois was so frustrated and worried that she couldn't even sit still. She was pacing all over the apartment, knocking things off periodically. She didn't blame Clark, he was only looking out for the baby and if it wasn't for the baby, she wouldn't be in here listening to him. She just couldn't do nothing though. It was driving her crazy. She may not be able to focus on physically tracking him down, but she could work on thinking through the situation and doing some research on the computer, not that she was a computer whiz by any means.

She couldn't shake the serial killer from her mind. She had the files on the case in the apartment. She had dropped the story at Clark's insistence and since that time, 11 more senseless murders had taken place, a couple of those people were elderly. Who would kill a sweet 90 year old grandmother? It was clear the killer had no feelings, his suspects were so random that it seemed like the killer just had a hobby, something to do for kicks. At least, children hadn't been added to the growing list, yet. It all took place with the same untraceable laser gun. The police were sure that it was a military issued gun, but this kind of gun wasn't traceable. There were no bullets being left behind to even identify what type it was, but a laser gun was rare enough to know one person was doing it. Lois didn't think it was wise to completely rule out a gang. It could be some new calling card, if somebody had managed to get a hold of enough guns, but what did a 90 year woman have to do with a gang? The police thought it might be a veteran who had gone mad. Lois thought it might just as easily be someone who knew how to put one together. An inventor gone mad, maybe. Either way nothing had been narrowed down. There was never any further evidence at the crime scenes. Just a smoking hole right through the victim's heart.

Suddenly she got a cold, nauseous feeling right in the pit of her stomach. Her heart picked up speed and the nausea spread to the back of her throat. She knew who the serial killer was. Why hadn't she seen it before? Suddenly things were pulling together and starting to make a little more sense, even if it was a strange, twisted sense. She had to tell Clark.

Clark flew into the room right on cue. Maybe he had heard her heartbeat get faster.

"I know who it is! I know who's been killing all these people and who took Ev--" she broke off before she finished her sentence and took a step back. She had seen many emotions in those expressive blue eyes of his over the years, but never the evil look that was in them now. She had backed her way against the wall. It wasn't Clark that was in the room. It was Bizarro.

She tried to scream, but he was on her in an instant with his hand clamped over her mouth. She tried to struggle, but it was useless. His powers were equal to Clark's.

He smiled at her, although smile was a loose definition. She didn't think the word smile could be associated with anything so devoid of human feeling. Even the most corrupted of human beings had souls. Bizarro didn't even appear to have that much. He just was. It scared her, a thousand more times than even Lex Luthor at his worst could have scared her. Her heart felt as if it leapt out of her chest when he took off with her, super speeding at a speed so phenomenal that Clark had never wanted to risk it on a human. He didn't seem to want to kill her. Maybe he would take her to Evan.

TBC


	16. Chapter 16

Once Lois caught her breath. She stood up and looked around. She wasn't exactly sure where in the world he had taken her, but it definitely looked underground. "Where are we?" she asked Bizarro.

"Somewhere where you can't get out and Superman can't get in," he grinned.

She took a closer look at her surroundings. It was a room shaped like a small tunnel only it didn't lead anywhere. She saw Evan laying on the floor, unconscious. "What did you do to him?"

"He's still alive. The speed was too much for him and it knocked him cold."

She looked at Bizarro. He looked slightly amused. "But why did you take him?" she asked.

He shrugged. "Lana's orders."

"You work for Lana?"

"I don't work for anybody. She's a good source when I want--"

"Stop right there." She could easily fill in the blanks. She didn't want it spelled out for her.

His amusement didn't waver. "And as I know you've figured out, Evan's our son."

She glared. "You're no one's father. You merely contributed some DNA that wasn't yours to begin with. You don't even know what father means."

He didn't even answer her. He just continued to smile creepily at her.

"Why did you take me?"

"Also Lana's orders."

"How'd you survive anyway?"

"You ask a lot of questions."

She folded her arms. "Well, when you get kidnapped like this, it raises a lot of questions."

"Blue kryptonite gives me power beyond measure. It takes time for me to recover, but I do recover. My cells had to gather themselves back together."

"So you've really been with her all this time?"

"Most of the time."

"Why did she come to Clark? What about her summer job?"

He laughed. "There was no job. We don't need money. I can take whatever we need. As for Clark, she hates him and she hates you. She has a lust for revenge. Just ask Lex Luthor."

"Revenge? Clark didn't do anything."

"He stopped pining for her. She also blames him for getting pregnant with my child. She wasn't so accepting at first. She hoped Evan would come between you, but when it didn't and you even started to bond, it made her angrier. She didn't think far enough ahead to realize Clark would want to share Evan. I could have told her that. No one knows how he works better than me, except maybe you. It's somewhat of a laugh to watch her plans unfold. I enjoy it. She wanted me to take Evan as a precaution if the custody battle didn't work out. I jumped the gun. Now she wants you as a bartering tool if need be." He stepped closer and said suggestively, "All you have to do though is say the word and I'll take you out of here."

She took a step back. "I thought you were devoted to Lana."

"Not at all. She's handy, but you're much sexier and you have such fire."

"You're disgusting. Can't you tell I'm pregnant?"

"I know. It looks like my counterpart finally woke up and realized what he had under his nose. It doesn't bother me, I'll still take you."

"In your dreams."

"Have it your way. As much as I enjoy playing 20 questions with you, I have to go now. Lana needs me."

"You won't get away with this," Lois said. Maybe it was an overused phrase, but she hoped to see just a trace of fear that Clark would ruin his and Lana's plans. It would give her hope and make the situation seem so much better than it was.

"I'm afraid the man you're depending on is rather slow and his goodness only serves to make him weak. He doesn't stand a chance against me. I also have kryptonite as extra insurance. I wouldn't spend your time yelling for him either. You see not only will he not hear you as this room is made from lead, but there is a limited supply of oxygen and I wouldn't want you to use it up."

He looked toward the ceiling and with his heat vision, cut a hole in the lead. He shot out of the hole and out of a layer of dirt before she could even blink her eyes, much less open her mouth to scream. Then he had sealed the hole back up and filled the dirt back in. The only sign that he had even left was the few grains of dirt that lay on the floor. It was a clever place to trap people, especially when you were hiding them from Superman. There was no way she could escape solid lead, there wasn't even so much as a small trap door. She took another quick scan around the room and decided she would be wasting her time to figure out an escape plan.

Lana was behind everything, but the actual carrying out of the tasks and the murders, she knew the murders could only be something Bizarro did for amusement. Lois was still having trouble wrapping her head around it. She would've never imagine Lana capable of that level of evilness.

Lois sat down on the floor next to Evan and put Evan's head in her lap. She brushed his sweaty bangs from his eyes. He moaned a little and started to stir. That was a good sign. He was waking up. Lois shut her eyes tight and prayed with everything she had. Clark had to come and rescue them. He just had to.

TBC


	17. Chapter 17

Clark spent hours searching for Evan. It was like he had vanished off the face of the earth and even that shouldn't have stopped him from finding him. He flew back to Justice League Headquarters.

Oliver was the only one there, everybody else was still out searching. He looked up at Clark sympathetically, which meant the league hadn't had any success.

"I'm going to check in with Lois, she's probably worried sick by now."

"Or worse getting ready to do something."

He nodded halfheartedly and then turned to leave.

"Clark?" Clark looked back. "Don't worry. We are going to find him."

He nodded again. He was too weary to do anything else, it had been a long and draining day, emotionally and physically.

On his way back to the apartment, he wondered if he should check in with Lana and Nell. They must have been just as worried as he was. He figured he'd better check in with Lois first.

"Lois," he called when he came through the window. "Lois?" he called again. His eyes widened. It couldn't be. She'd promised to stay put, but what if whatever had gotten Evan had gotten her too? "Lois!" he yelled again. He knew it was a futile yell. He could already tell with his super hearing that she was nowhere in the vicinity.

---

"Mommy?" Evan asked groggily as he finally came out of his unconsciousness. She could tell by the tone of his voice that he had no clue his mother had played a part in his kidnapping.

"No, sweetheart, it's Lois," she replied, taking his hand in hers.

"Lois? I--I was with Aunt Nell and--"

"Shhh, just relax. I know all about it. You do know that wasn't your daddy that took you, don't you?" In a way, he was, but she didn't want him associating that monster with Clark.

He nodded weakly. "I know. It's the bad man that looks in my window sometimes. He's one of Mommy's friends."

"You mean the night you saw the bad man, it was him?"

"I knew it wasn't my daddy."

She drew him closer. Kids were more perceptive than they were given credit for sometimes. She was glad that he was able to see the evil and know a difference. She didn't know what kind of trick Lana and Bizarro would pull next and it was important that Evan knew which one was which.

"It's all going to be okay. He'll come for us. He always does." She had been hoping that Evan's strength would return, so he could try busting through the lead, but it was too dangerous even when it did return. They could just as easily suffocate if the dirt came into the room. She just had to hope that she was right and that Clark would come.

---

Clark's heartbeat was in a frenzy all over again.

He definitely had to see Nell. She must have seen something that she forgot to say. He forcefully pounded on the hotel door where Nell and Lana were staying during the trial.

The door opened in seconds. Nell had opened it and looked a little stir-crazy. "Did you find him? Did you find Evan, Clark?"

Clark pushed up his glasses. He felt bad that he had given her false hope, but he had to come here. "No, I just needed to ask you some more questions."

Dejected, she motioned him into the room. Lana was sitting quietly and calmly in the beaten-up hotel chair in the corner. He gave her a nod of acknowledgement. She didn't respond. He focused his attention back on Nell. "Tell me again slowly and in detail what happened."

Nell sighed and said, "There isn't anything else I can tell you. I was looking in my purse and one minute he was there and the next he wasn't."

"Are you sure there isn't anything else, a noise, something, anything?"

She paused to give it some thought. "Well…the wind was blowing I guess."

He was about to leave when he remembered something. The wind wasn't blowing. "What do you mean?"

"Just briefly. It was almost like Superman swooped in and got him, but we know that isn't possible." Suspicion suddenly filled Nell's eyes. Suspicion filled Clark's eyes too, but for different reasons. He turned around to face Lana. "Why have you just been sitting here calmly?"

"Because I know there's nothing I can do. The police are on it. The Justice League is on it. What can I, a mere mortal woman do?"

Nell spoke accusingly, "You took him, didn't you, Clark? You knew the court would rule in my niece's favor."

Clark closed his eyes momentarily in irritation. Having a child with Lana meant one more person was in on his secret. It wasn't that he didn't trust Nell, but her knowing didn't exactly benefit him, considering the circumstances. He chose to ignore the accusation. Lana was his only focus now. "You know where Evan is and I think you also know where my wife is."

Lana feigned surprise. "Lois is missing? That's really too bad."

He could tell that she was lying and it made him angry. Before it had only been suspicion, but now he was sure that she was up to her old games. Lois was right how could he have been fooled by her innocent act? Maybe at one time she really had been innocent, but not now. He went over to the chair, picked her up into the air, and pushed her against the wall in one fluid, angry motion. "Where are they?" he asked through gritted teeth.

Nell was panicked. "What are you doing? Put her down right now. I'll…I'll…call the cops," she finished weakly. She realized there wasn't much she could threaten Superman with.

"I'll put her down when she tells me where Evan and Lois are."

Lana didn't look the least bit intimidated, but Nell defended her adamantly, "My gosh, what 's wrong with you? Evan's her son. She would never do anything to hurt him. Or Lois!"

"I'm not saying she hurt them, but Lana, you have them hid somewhere and I want to know where. Why are you doing this to me?"

She still didn't answer. He gave up and set her down. He wasn't getting anywhere and he was wasting precious time. He thought back to what Nell had said 'like Superman'. Maybe he was somwhat off base. Lana couldn't have pulled that off, at least not by herself. "Bizarro," he said.

Nell looked confused, but for the first time, Lana looked startled. Clark smiled. It had just been a wild guess, but it was clearly the right guess. He flew out of the 6th story hotel room dressed as Superman. He could have come in that way, but he hadn't been thinking of Nell knowing. He should have known Lana had told her.

"Clark!" he heard Lana yell after him.

She had clearly gone into panic mode. He didn't know where to go, but at least he knew who he was looking for now. He would deal with Lana later.

TBC


	18. Chapter 18

Lana cursed. She wished she had superpowers again. She hated being normal while Clark got to fly off and do super things.

"Clearly Clark has become unhinged, poor boy," Nell said to Lana. "What should we do?"

"We should do nothing. Why don't you go take a stroll around the pool to calm yourself, Aunt Nell?" Lana asked sweetly.

Nell looked at Lana funny for a moment and then sighed. "Maybe it would do me some good. Will you get me if you learn anything?"

"Of course."

Once Nell was gone she called for Bizarro.

Bizarro answered his call with a smirk, "Miss me, baby?" He was wearing a Superman costume just like Clark's. He had to keep from being spotted as something unusual. The only person he had to be on guard with was Clark.

He started forward, but she put her hand up, stopping him, "Is that all you can think about sex and violence?"

"Sounds about right."

She ignored the last remark, "I was hoping for a little more time. I wanted Clark to become more desperate at not finding them and therefore more willing to barter with me, but he's caught on to you and to me too. Our only chance is Lois. He would do anything to ensure her safety, especially now that they have a baby on the way. Clark will be more than willing to let you, me, and Evan disappear safely if it means Lois lives."

He had become much more serious. "Maybe."

"No maybe to it. Take us to them."

Bizarro willingly obliged and they found themselves safely enclosed in the hideout before Lana could blink her eyes twice.

Lois' eyes widened at the appearance of Bizarro and Lana and then anger flashed in her eyes. Evan had fallen back asleep. He still looked pale from the unholy speed Bizarro had used in bringing him here. She gingerly moved him to the floor and rose to her feet. "How can you show your face after what you've done to me and what you've done to your own flesh and blood," she directed vehemently at Lana.

Lana smiled and then said after an amused chuckle, "I haven't done anything to my son."

"Oh, no? You didn't have him whisked away so fast that his health suffered and you didn't use him in a cruel plot to hurt Clark?"

She looked at Evan with some concern. "He does look a little sick, but if everything goes according to plan, he won't need to be whisked away anymore."

"Do you even hear yourself? If you really loved him, you would forget this whole crazy scheme and see that he gets looked at by a doctor."

Lana took a step forward threateningly. She looked like she wanted to dispose of Lois now, but Lois and Bizarro both knew she needed her as a bartering tool. "How dare you say I don't love my son! I do love him. That's why I'm doing this."

"Maybe in your own twisted way you do, but can't you see that what you did was just plain selfish? You care more about your need for revenge than your son's emotional wellbeing. What made you think he wasn't going to get attached to a man you called his father? Real love puts the other person first."

Lana stamped her foot and screeched like a spoiled child throwing a temper tantrum. "You better watch what you say to me. I am the one with the upper hand."

Lois shook her head, "You know I almost feel sorry for you. It took a lot to bring you from the kind girl that saved me in the cemetery to this bitter woman with criminal tendencies."

"You bet it did and it's Clark Kent that did it to me. His coming to earth is the reason my parents died, his pushing me away is the reason I ended up with the manipulative monster that Lex was, and he's also the reason I slept with this soulless mutation and had its child, so pardon me for feeling bitter."

"Clark had nothing to do with those things. That meteor shower would have come to Earth with or without him, you chose to be with Lex, and you're the one that couldn't tell the difference between good and evil, which isn't so surprising if we consider the current predicament, is it?"

Lana just glared. "Shut up. I don't have to listen to this."

"What are you doing here anyway?" Lois asked.

She smiled again. "We're waiting for Clark to find us, if he can and if he does," she pulled a green rock out of her pocket, "we are more than ready. He won't succeed."

Bizarro had been staring thoughtfully at Evan. "A child of my caliber should have recovered by now."

It was a simple statement, but one that held a lot of meaning. Lois could see it in his eyes. He was about to shoot heat rays from his eyes right at Evan's heart because he thought the boy didn't measure up. The rays would surely kill Evan in his vulnerable state. She did the only thing she had time to do. She jumped in front of Evan, taking the blast for him.

TBC


	19. Chapter 19

Lois' eyes were shut tight as she felt the heated ray hit her.

She was sure she was going to die, but she didn't or death wasn't as painful as people made it out to be. She opened her eyes and saw a confused and flabbergasted Lana and Bizarro staring back at her. Just to be sure, she looked down. There wasn't a mark on her. She quickly ran this through her mind. Had she finally gotten a meteor power? Then it hit her, she was carrying and connected to a half Kryptonian child, somehow she was channeling the baby's power.

Lana seemed to have come to that conculsion herself, but rather than commenting on it, she turned on Bizarro, "You--you monster! What's wrong with you? Did you really just try to kill our child?"

He also ignored what had just occurred. His face was neutral now and completely unphased by Lana's words, "He's weak. We can always have another stronger child."

"Are you insane?" Lana cried.

"No," Lois answered for him. "You both are." Then Lois bit her lip. It just occurred to her it might not have been a good idea to turn the attention back to her. Sometimes she felt she had no control over her mouth, her words came faster than her thoughts. Lana, fortunately, was now more concerned with the one who had just tried to kill her son than her crazy plan. She dragged him to the other end of the room and they began to have a heated argument.

Lois took a quick peek at Evan. He was still sleeping peacefully. She wondered if she had other powers too or if it was just invincibility. She hoped she did. It might be the only way she could get her and Evan to safety, but she had no idea how to control them. She walked over slowly and casually to the edge and banged her fist against it with all her strength against the lead wall. It didn't really hurt, but it didn't even dent it. Clearly, strength hadn't been transferred. It made sense though, it was early adulthood before Clark had all his powers. She only had what the baby had.

"I won't let you kill our son!" Lana was yelling at Bizarro. "Do what you want with Lois, but leave Evan alone!"

Bizarro looked angry now and tired of Lana. Lois could see it coming. Apparently Lana could too because she ducked and Bizarro's heat ray hit the wall and made a hole.

Lois knew it was their only chance. She yelled for Clark. Bizarro's eyes still reddened and activated from anger threw another heat ray toward Lois and like the first one, it didn't do anything. Clark came crashing through the structure and threw his own heat ray at Bizarro. It was enough to throw Bizarro off momentarily. Clark used that time to scoop up Lois and Evan and he shot through the hole he had made.

However before he made it out of the vicinity with them, Bizarro came out too carrying Lana. He threw her down like a rag doll and came charging toward Clark like a football player in the air. Clark had just enough time to get Lois and Evan quickly and gently to the ground before Bizarro rammed him. They went flying back about 50 feet, toppling a tree.

Lana came over to where Lois and Evan were. She checked on Evan who appeared to be in a state of heavier unconsciousness than before and was oblivious to the racket going on around him. Then Lana turned to see them battling. They were both in Superman costumes. She asked a tad nervously, "How can anybody tell them apart?"

"How can you not see that evil, cold look on Bizarro's face? On Clark's face there is just determination." She shook her head, "But I guess if you could recognize the difference between good and evil, we wouldn't be here right now."

Lana glared at Lois and then she looked down at her pocket, she still had it with her. Lois knew what she was thinking. She was beginning to understand how Lana's mind worked. "Are you even the least bit sane? He just tried to kill Evan and you. If you help him, it won't make a difference to him and even if it did, for how long? He's not human, Lana. You said it yourself, he's a monster. You can't control him."

Lana let out a small sigh. Thankfully, she had enough sanity left to realize Lois was right.

"Do you have a cell phone in there?" Lois asked.

"Why?" Lana asked, panic and suspicion laced in her voice. "Are you going to call the police?"

Lois rolled her eyes. "We're out in the middle of nowhere, literally because I have no idea where we are, and Superman and his evil clone are battling, and you think I'm going to call the police to come arrest the evil clone and his crazy girlfriend. Get over yourself. I'm going to call the Justice League for some help. They're too equally matched for obvious reasons."

Lana wearily handed over her cell phone.

"Any chance you're going to tell me where we are?" Lois asked.

She looked annoyed, but gave her the exact coordinates.

Lois moved over behind a tree, hoping Bizarro was too involved to notice her and to afford some privacy away from Lana. She called headquarters.

"Hello," Chloe answered the phone. Apparently Chloe was finally back from her trip.

"Chloe, it's Lois. Clark needs help fast. I need you to get a hold of Diana and J'onn, they're the only ones who are going to have the speed and ability to withstand Bizarro."

"Bizarro? What's going on? Where are you?" she asked.

"It's a long story. The short version is Lana, Bizarro, Child, Kidnappings. The coordinates are 38-36'15"N and 122-49'56"W."

Lois heard the click of keys as she was telling her. She looked around to see how it was going. They were killing a lot of trees, but Clark didn't look much worse for the wear, and unfortunately, neither did Bizarro.

"You're in California!" Chloe cried.

"Hence the need for super-speeding super heroes, so please--"

Lois dropped the phone. It had burst apart in her hand, thanks to heat vision. Bizarro was floating above her menacingly. Heat vision must have been his favorite power as often as he used it. Before he could do or say anything else, Clark had gotten a hold of him and thrown him back into the imaginary arena away from Lois, Evan, and Lana.

Lois winced when Bizarro dropped Clark to the ground. He had a tough time getting back up; it was finally starting to get to him. She looked anxiously for Diana and J'onn. She didn't know how much longer this could go on.

TBC


	20. Chapter 20

Lois heard herself let out a sigh of relief when she saw J'onn and Diana come into view.

It didn't take them long to overpower Bizarro. He was already weary from fighting Clark. They easily dropped him with their strength and Diana put her lasso around him as extra insurance. No man or Kryptonian could break out of the golden lasso. Being even more vigilant than may have been necessary Diana asked, "Are you the one they call Bizarro?"

"Yes," he answered, under the spell of truth, another of the lasso's powers.

"I could have told you that," J'onn said. "I can read his thoughts."

Clark weary and now safely grounded laughed weakly. "If anyone could have you that was Bizarro, I could have."

Lois caught Lana trying to sneak off during this victory, but she had no trouble tightly grabbing onto Lana. "Nice try," Lois said sarcastically, "but with 3 superheroes in our midst, you're going to have to do better than that."

Lana used her free hand to take the green kryptonite out of her purse. "Either let me leave or you won't have a husband," she threatened

It was all Lois could to keep from rolling her eyes. Instead, she used her free hand to take the kryptonite from her. "You've got 2 superpowered people and me standing in your way and none of them are affected in the least by kryptonite."

J'onn rushed over to help. Clark couldn't get closer and Diana was handling Bizarro. "You had better give me the kryptonite, Lois. Do not forget you carry a half Kryptonian in your womb. I would not want to see anything happen to the child."

Lois quickly dropped the meteorite into his hand like a hot potato. "I didn't think about that."

Lana smirked, "I hope--"

Bart flashed into their midst and took Lana himself. "I hope you don't finish that sentence. Pregnant or not, Lois can still snap you like a twig and I'd really like to get you to the cops in one piece."

J'onn threw the kryptonite into space. They all watched it fly out of orbit.

"You know you lose youe appreciation for things like baseball when you see that sort of thing," Lois cracked.

"You said it," Bart agreed.

Lana glared daggers at them all.

With the kryptonite no longer a threat, Clark joined them. He and Lois hugged each other tightly, thankful it was over and they were all safe. Then he looked at Bart disapprovingly. "You shouldn't have come. Bizarro isn't to be taken lightly. Your powers wouldn't have been a match."

He shrugged with a grin. "That's what Chloe said, but I'm here and I'm helping," he said indicating Lana by shaking her a little.

"Bizarro should be taken into space too. That way he's sure not to be a problem any longer." J'onn said. "If you'll come with me, Diana, I know where to obtain some blue kryptonite and then you can take your lasso back and I'll take him to a planet where he'll have no powers."

Diana and J'onn took off to take care of Bizarro.

"Any last words?" Bart asked Lana before he took her off too.

"This isn't over," Lana said, venom in her voice. "They won't convict me. I'll get custody of Evan and then I'll really make you and Lois pay."

Lois and Clark only looked at her with a mixture of disgust and pity on their faces.

"Do you two need help getting back to Metropolis?" Bart asked.

Clark shook his head. "I can already feel my strength returning," he said, looking up at the sun that was filtering through the tall trees.

Bart left with Lana. Lois and Clark went over to Evan. Clark picked him up and Evan opened his eyes, which were still heavy. "Where's Mommy? Where's the bad man? Where's Daddy?" he asked.

Clark spoke soothingly. "I'll explain it to you later. Right now I think you need to get some more sleep. It's been a long day. I think we all need some sleep," he said, looking at Lois.

She held up her hands in mock surrender. "Hey, no arguments from me, but--"

"No."

"I haven't said anything yet."

"The story will be waiting for you after you get some sleep. None of the other papers will have the story, so there's no need to rush."

She frowned, but she knew a couple hours of sleep wouldn't hurt. She had to think of the baby. He took Lois up in his arms and Lois held onto Evan and they were off.

Lois was happy to see the welcoming Metropolis skyline.

Clark flew them into the apartment. Lois laid a sleeping Evan onto the couch.

"I'm going to have to fly back out and then come in the regular way in my regular clothes," Clark said.

"I know. I saw all those people around our apartment. There must be some sort of story breaking. I wonder--'

Before Lois could finish her sentence the door busted open. 2 police officers came into the room with their guns poised and ready to shoot.

"Superman, you're under arrest."

TBC


	21. Chapter 21

Lois' eyebrows furrowed and Clark's raised in shock.

"Under arrest?" Lois asked. "Superman's under arrest? Have you been drinking, Joe?" Lois had played poker with Joe before and often consulted with him on stories.

"No, ma'am," the older officer said in an unamused business tone, "and this doesn't have anything to do with you."

"The he—"

"Lois," Clark warned. Arguing with the officers could only make it worse.

She ignored him. "You come into my apartment and it doesn't have anything to do with me?"

He decided it best to ignore her. "Superman, I'm going to have to ask you to come with me." He held out the handcuffs.

Lois rolled her eyes. It was ridiculous. If Superman went with them, it would be voluntarily. The handcuffs and the arrest was a joke. She stormed off to the other side of the room like she was angry, which she was, and she whispered so only Clark could hear, "Fly off. Then come back as yourself. They can't arrest you if you're Clark Kent."

He shook his head and slipped on the cuffs. Joe started reading him his rights.

Now she was really angry. "This is insane! What are the charges?"

"There'll be a press conference in 45 minutes, Miss Lane," the younger officer told her, looking genuinely sorry and even somewhat guilty.

The officer started pushing Clark toward the door, so he could get away from Lois and read the Miranda rights without her interrupting. Clark looked back at her, "Don't worry, Miss Lane. I'm sure it won't take to realize this is all a misunderstanding." Joe left with a hand-cuffed Clark.

The younger officer lingered and moved toward Evan. "I'm afraid he'll have to come too."

"That's my stepson," she growled, putting herself between the officer and Evan.

"I'm really sorry, ma'am, but it's orders."

Lois glared at him, but moved. He woke Evan up and asked, "Think you can you walk?"

Evan nodded and looked to Lois for guidance. "Go with him, honey. I'll be right behind you. It's going to be okay. I promise."

The officer took Evan by the hand and left.

Lois found her keys and then floored it all the way to the police station. As soon as she came through the door, she started yelling at the receptionist, "I demand to see Superman right now!"

"He hasn't finished being booked yet, ma'am. If you'll take a seat--"

"I will not take a seat! Do you realize who you're arresting? When this hits the papers, you'll be made a laughing—" she stopped before she finished, forgetting the receptionist. Her eyes had fallen on Nell. She pointed at her and said accusingly, "You—you did this."

The older woman took on an air of self-righteousness. "I'm only doing my duty as a citizen—"

"Cut the crap. I want to talk to you outside, alone."

The receptionist looked concerned. She didn't know if Nell ought to go with such a hot-tempered woman. Nell, sensing the receptionist's concern, nodded at her reassuringly. She didn't known Lois very well, but she knew her enough not to be afraid to go with her.

"What are you trying to do?" she asked Nell as soon as they were outside.

Nell looked a little more sympathetic. "Look, I know he's your husband, but—"

"Do you know your precious niece was behind Evan's kidnapping and mine?"

Nell looked too confused to process what Lois had just said, "What?"

"I said did you know that your niece is the one behind it, behind a lot of things actually."

The expression on Nell's face changed to denial. "I don't believe you."

"You will when you're sitting on the bench at her trial."

"She doesn't have the power to whisk Evan away. Only Superman could do that."

"Or Superman's evil clone."

"Bizarro?" she said more to herself than Lois, recalling what Lana had told her about him many years ago.

"And Evan's real father. Bizarro doesn't care much for parenthood though. He was almost completely in Lana's control, almost being the key word. You can't control a monster and certainly not Bizarro."

"Bizarro?" Nell repeated, looking distressed.

Lois felt a tinge of sympathy for Nell. After all, she had done the best she could in raising Lana and she had thought she was doing the right thing by turning Clark in. She awkwardly patted her arm and said softly, "I'm sorry. I know this must be a shock." An awful thought crossed Lois' mind. "You didn't tell the police, who Superman really is, did you?"

Nell let out a sigh. "As sure as I am-was that he was behind it, I didn't do that. I guess a small part of me said what if."

"So you're going to drop the charges?"

"Yes, but they also think he's behind the murders that have been taking place lately. They have an eyewitness who says he saw Superman killing someone. I believe it was Bizarro now, but you're going to have to convince the police of that. Where is Bizarro?"

It was Lois' turn to sigh, "He's probably in space by now. Martian Manhunter is taking him to a planet where he can't do any harm. I'm sure they'll believe his testimony and Wonder Woman's."

Nell nodded, "Probably."

She pulled out her cell phone and called Chloe. "Has Wonder Woman or Martian Manhunter gotten back yet?" she asked as soon as Chloe said hello.

"You're in trouble again?" Chloe asked in disbelief.

"No, but Clark is. They think he's Metropolis' latest serial killer and I need them to explain to the police that it was Bizarro."

"I'll send them your way as soon as they get back."

"Thanks," she said to Chloe before hanging up and to Nell she said, "Let's go back inside and see what we can do in the meantime."

They went back in calm and side by side. The receptionist was surprised to see Lois calm and even more surprised to see that she had won Nell to her side. "Yes?" the receptionist asked.

"I want to drop my charges," Nell said. "I know now Superman didn't kidnap my grandnephew."

"Can I see him now?" Lois asked. "Superman or Evan?"

The receptionist sighed. "If an opportunity arises that you can see Superman, I'll let you know. I think I can arrange for you to see Evan. Is his mother and father around?"

"His mother is in jail and his father is—busy."

"Busy?" she asked.

"He's a reporter. Sometime that requires being busy. I'm his stepmother and this is his great aunt. Surely you can give him to one of us until this mess gets straightened out."

"I'll see what I can do," she said and then she started making some calls.

Lois and Nell took a seat while they waited, Lois tapping her nails impatiently and Nell gathering up the courage to speak.

"I really am sorry about all this. When Lana disappeared, I panicked."

"It looks like he would have been arrested anyway."

At last, Evan came out with the same young police officer from earlier. Evan looked like he was recovering; he had lost his paleness. He ran to Lois and threw his arms around her and then he hugged Nell.

"Can we go home?" he asked, looking between the two women, unsure of where home was exactly.

Nell looked to Lois. "I've raised one child. I think he should go home with you. If that's okay with you and Clark, of course."

"Of course, it is," Lois smiled gratefully and then she turned her attention back to Evan, "Soon, sweetheart. I think you should go with Aunt Nell for now. Daddy and I have some business we need to take care of."

"Don't worry, Lois," Evan said brightly. "I didn't squeal."

Lois bit her lip partly from holding back laughter and partly because it worried her, the officer hadn't left. She looked up to see his reaction.

He was smiling, "No, but he did tell us a confusing story about how a bad man kidnapped you and him, and how Superman rescued you both. Is that true?"

"Of course, it's true," she retorted. "Why else would Superman be in my apartment?"

The receptionist looked over curiously, obviously she had her own ideas of why. Lois frowned and the receptionist went back to attending to her job.

"Well, you are a reporter and you do a large number of stories on Superman," the officer told her. "It could have been an interview."

"It wasn't. Now if you have finished grilling Evan and me, can I see Superman?"

"I'll see what I can do. I can't make any promises. Whether he kidnapped or rescued this young man, it isn't his main charge. He could be dangerous."

"Of course, he could be dangerous. He's Superman. If he wanted to hurt me or kidnap anyone, he could. Oh, and by the way, in case you're unaware, bars don't hold him back."

He nodded. "I'll see."

Nell got a chance to explain in as much detail as possible why she was dropping her accusation. Then she took Evan back to the hotel to get something to eat and some more rest.

At last, the officer in charge of the case came out, "Lois Lane?"

"Yes?" she said, standing up.

"You can see him now."

He led her into a room where he was waiting.

"Some privacy, please?" she said, when the officer didn't take the hint.

He looked very reluctant. "I'll be outside. Don't try anything funny."

"Don't worry. It'll be as somber as a funeral parlor in here," Lois smarted off.

"I mean it," he said, closing the door.

"Crazy, isn't it?" she asked.

"Not that crazy. Nell turned me in, didn't she?"

"That and you were spotted frying one of the victims."

"Oh, great. Bizarro's probably millions of miles away by now."

"I'd guess light years. Don't worry. Chloe's going to send them here as soon as she gets in contact with them," she put a hand over his.

He squeezed and then pulled away. "Careful. Officer Rivers is liable to bust in here any minute. How's Evan?"

"Much better and he assured me that he didn't squeal."

Clark laughed. "That's good."

They chatted about light topics until their 5 minutes were up.

Lois decided to attend the D.A.'s press conference and give her grief, which she accomplished.

Diana finally showed up. "I'm sorry I took so long. I just reported back at headquarters. "Martian Manhunter's not back yet. He's still in space."

"I'm sure your testimony will be enough. They hardly listen to me."

Diana's testimony was enough and they let him go.

The young arresting officer smiled brightly at Clark as he left. "I had faith in you, Superman."

"Thank you," he told the officer politely.

Once they were outside, he flew off as Superman and then returned in regular clothes.

"Finally," he told Lois. "What a day."

"Just another normal chronicle in our wacky life. I'm sure some maniac called something nutty like Kangaroo Killer will be threatening to blow up the city in a couple hours."

"You need your rest, kangaroos or no kangaroos," he said, placing his hand on her stomach. "And I don't want to hear anything about stories."

"You won't have to. I took the opportunity to write up everything while you were incarcerated. Perry has it all. If it's not in the press, then it's already on the street."

He shook his head as he drew her closer. "You're insufferable. You know that?"

She laughed, "Yep, and that's why you love me."

He shook his head and rolled his eyes as he held the car door open for her. Unfortunately, she was right.

TBC


	22. Chapter 22

"It's a girl," said the doctor, as the baby's crying screams filled the air.

They were in Clark's old bedroom at the Kent farm. Lois plunged back into the soft pillows in a sweaty heap, but with a smile on her face.

The doctor handed the baby to Clark, who brought the newly cleaned and healthy baby over to Lois.

"She's so beautiful," Lois breathed.

The baby had blue eyes like Clark's and soft, light brown hair like Lois' when she was a girl.

"Of course, she is," Clark said as he stroked the baby's hair.

She smiled and they gave each other a quick kiss. Then she turned her eyes to the young doctor in the room, her smile disappearing, "And you. If I have another child, you had better make sure you bring drugs next times or you won't live through the next childbirth."

He threw his hands up in surrender. "You said you wanted a natural childbirth. You said that no matter what you say in the throws of labor, no drugs. I was only following strict orders."

There was a light knock on the door. "Can we come in?" Chloe called.

"Sure," the doctor called back, glad for the interruption. "Perfect timing, honey. Your cousin was about to kill me."

Chloe laughed at her husband. "I told you, Andrew. You should have given her drugs when she asked."

They had to get around plunging needles into the invulnerable baby. Fortunately, Chloe's doctor husband, who Chloe had let in on the secret with permission, provided that solution.

Martha, Lucy, Sam Lane, and Evan all trailed in after Chloe. They all gathered around the bedside to see the baby.

Martha was closest and a tear of happiness threatened to fall.

"You want to hold her?" Lois asked.

"It's a girl," the general said as if that didn't surprise him one bit.

Lois frowned at him before handing the girl to Martha. "Relax, Daddy. You already have a grandson," gesturing toward Evan with her eyes.

Sam gave Evan an awkward and stiff smile. He was still coming to terms with it. Lois couldn't imagine him ever coming to terms with it if he had he really been Clark's son but maybe she underestimated him sometimes. At least adoption and his gender gave Evan a fighting chance at having a grandfather.

Martha was softly cooing at the newborn. Chloe leaned toward Martha and offered a finger to the girl.

"Have you decided on a name?" Martha asked.

Lois and Clark smiled at each other and Clark said, "Ella Martha Kent."

"For her grandmothers," Lois said.

"Ellie," Evan said.

"That's a fine nickname," Clark smiled. "I like it."

"Me too," Lois echoed.

"Why don't we give the new family some alone time," suggested Andrew, "but not too much time. Ellie and her mother need some rest." Everyone left leaving Clark, Lois, Evan, and Ellie alone.

"My daughter," Clark said proudly.

"Let's get one thing straight in this family," Lois declared. "There is no my or your. Just ours."

Evan's wondering eyes finally left the baby. "Not even my sister?"

Lois smiled, "Well, maybe my sister would be okay. I just mean that we're one family," she said as she tousled his hair.

Clark and Evan smiled back at her. There was no argument coming from them or Ellie for that matter.

The End


End file.
